Quest for Survival
by Ander Arias
Summary: Sequel to Black Clouds. The Winx Club and Mirta find that the events of Cloud Tower were only a small part of a conspiracy that could result in the destruction of all fairies. All canon couples plus Mirta/OC. Read and Review!
1. Visting Dark Places

**Quest for Survival**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Winx Club.

**Thanks to Stills and Photographs for betareading this story**.

**Chapter 1: Visiting Dark Places**

It had been some months after Mirta, Lucy, Flora and the rest of the Winx defeated the Void Lord that took over Cloud Tower. Everybody concluded that there was somebody behind the Void Lord's actions, and the headmasters of the three schools started researching while the girls enjoyed their well-deserved vacation. But sadly, the vacation didn't last long.

After some weeks, some realms reported that they had been attacked by a small commando of four. Their targets were usually libraries where said realms stored their most powerful and secret spells; however, they didn't steal any spell, potion recipe or similar, but maps and cartographic documents instead. The headmasters, taking advantage of the lack of classes, fit out the schools as a base of operations, in order to investigate these weird attacks. The summer was almost over, and they hadn't yet found the mysterious group, who was also presumed responsible for the attack on Cloud Tower.

…

It was night. Mirta and Lucy walked through a street on the outskirts of Magix. Lucy, who was carrying a bag, seemed to be calm, but Mirta was a bit nervous.

"Never been here before?" asked Lucy, noticing her friend's worry.

"I didn't even know that such a place existed in Magix," replied Mirta, taking a look around.

The street they were in differed a lot from the rest of the city, since it was darker and gloomier. The streets were dirtier, buildings were in a deplorable state, and the people who populated said streets didn't look too...respectable. Mirta just learned that even Magix has a slum.

"Tell me again what we are doing here?"

"We're going to pay a visit to an old friend of mine," said Lucy enigmatically. Mirta raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of 'friends' Lucy had – besides her, of course.

Lucy, however, noticed her reaction.

"Well, it's not really a friend," clarified the green-haired witch, "but somebody who helped me in the past. Relax; everything is going to be fine."

Mirta was still unsure. They kept walking until they arrived at their destination.

"We're here," announced Lucy. They stopped in the front of a place with a neon sign that said 'The Crow's Nest'.

'The Crow's Nest' was some sort of discotheque, with many boys and girls happily dancing, bathed by multicolored lights while loud music played. Mirta immediately knew that the girls were witches. It seemed that the Hex Cafe wasn't the only place they frequented.

But they didn't come here to see dancing witches. Lucy then walked towards a man seated at a table in a corner, with two young girls on each side. The man was probably in his late thirties, had short black hair, a mustache and a goatee, and wore a blue buttoned shirt, and black pants. He didn't take too much time to notice the newcomers.

"Lucy!" greeted the man. "What a pleasant surprise," the man's voice oozed sarcasm.

"Can we talk in private, Mot?" asked Lucy.

The man, apparently named Mot, told his young companions to leave and have something to drink. Lucy and Mirta sat beside him.

"So, what can I do for you, Lucy?" asked Mot. However, before Lucy could answer, he asked: "Do you want to drink something?"

Mot snapped his fingers and three glasses with a purple liquid appeared floating in front of them. Lucy glared at him.

"Like hell I'm going to drink one of your poisoned cocktails again," grimaced Lucy.

"Come on, it was only once! And you survived, right?" However, Lucy's expression didn't change. The man got the message and made the glasses disappear. He then glanced at Mirta, and asked: "Who's your friend?"

"My bodyguard," replied Lucy. Mirta almost gasped when she heard that. Mot, on the other hand, let out a rather loud laugh.

"Bodyguard? Why would you need such a thing? Did you become a celebrity or something?" asked Mot, before looking at Mirta again. "She doesn't look too tough."

"Oh, you haven't seen her in action," said Lucy. Mirta smiled shyly.

"Anyway, what do you want?" asked Mot.

"You should already know: information."

"About what?"

"How about the recent attacks made by a small group to many royal libraries?"

"Maybe I know something," said Mot. "But my mind is a bit...cloudy. Do you have something that may help me to remember?"

Lucy glared at him coldly, and fantasized about blasting him with her most powerful spell, followed by some line of the kind "Do you remember know? Because I have more of that." She really hated that man, but she had to put up with him if she wanted answers. She opened her bag, took a book from it, and gave it to Mot. Mot opened the book and had a look at it. His face spotted a bored expression.

"Enough for ya?" asked Lucy.

"Come on, Lucy, you have to have something better than this," said Mot. "This is not enough for the...kind of information you're looking for."

Lucy frowned. "That book came from Cloud Tower's crypt. Griffin would kill me if she knew that I picked it up without her permission, no less to use is as a payment for you!" yelled Lucy.

"Well, come here when you have something better," replied the man with a smug face.

Lucy was about to yell at him again, but Mirta touched her shoulder. In that moment, all her rage against the man dispelled, and she felt much calmer. She then knew what to say.

"Okay," said Lucy calmly. "Let's see what the police in Magix think about your business involving rare animals smuggling."

Mot lost his smug expression, and paled.

"You wouldn't dare!" said Mot. Lucy smirked.

"We can do two things: I can go to the Magix police, or you can accept my generous payment and tell me what you know."

"Like hell I'm going to let you do that," said Mot, now enraged. "You're a great witch, Lucy, but you aren't strong enough to beat me."

"I know. That's why I brought her," said Lucy, moving her head, pointing at Mirta.

Lucy left Mot thinking. Her silent friend didn't look that powerful. Maybe she was just bluffing. But maybe that's what she wanted: Mot knew appearances could be deceptive.

"Okay, you win. I'll tell you what I know," said Mot.

_Damn you, Lucy, and your pokerface._

They spent about fifteen minutes talking. Mot mentioned that when people talked about the attacks, he heard a place named Opal Nebula mentioned quite a few times. It was all that he knew.

Once they had what they came to look for, Mirta and Lucy left The Crow's Nest.

"Lucy, what do you know that guy from?" asked Mirta.

"Like I said before, it's just a contact. He did me some favors and gave me useful information," said Lucy. "Oh, and thanks. I almost let my temper ruin everything."

"No problem," said Mirta. When Mirta had touched her shoulder, she used her powers to erase all of Lucy's rage and replaced it with tranquility. "Fortunately, we got what we wanted. Well, if we can trust what he said..."

"Mirta, that guy is an overblown jerk, and a smuggler," said Lucy. "But his information is always reliable. I know it. Besides, I gave him a good payment."

Mirta didn't ask about that. She already knew that it wasn't an original Cloud Tower book, but a copy. An incomplete copy, made by Griffin herself, who was aware of Lucy's schemes with the underworld, like all the spell books Lucy gave him in exchange for whatever. But Mot never realized it.

"By the way, I thought that you could tell when somebody is lying," said Lucy.

"I decided to not to use the Emotion Scan on him. He would have noticed it," replied Mirta.

"Wise decision."

Mirta and Lucy continued walking through the dark streets in silence, until Mirta spoke again:

"Wait, if that guy is a smuggler, shouldn't we report him to police?"

Lucy simply laughed.

"Oh, Mirta, those years in Alfea totally wasted you," said Lucy. "You should know better than anybody that the world isn't black and white, but gray. Yes, that guy is a criminal, but he also provided me very useful information. Information about much more dangerous people than a simple smuggler. Like the people who attacked Cloud Tower months ago. I know that it sounds like a paradox, but that guy does more good here than in a prison."

"I think that I get it," replied Mirta. "He's the lesser of two evils, right?"

Lucy smiled with satisfaction.

"Maybe you didn't forget all the things you learned in Cloud Tower," said Lucy. "Let's return to the inn. We'll pick a bus tomorrow."

…

Meanwhile, far away from that place, in the deep space, a spaceship, a small cruiser flew towards a horrible destination.

"Omega Dimension on sight," announced a female voice, inside the ship.

"Excellent, prepare to land," replied another male voice.

Minutes later, the ship landed without any trouble in the hostile planet. The main door opened, and four figures came from it: three of them were wearing thick coats and winter cloaks to protect themselves from the extreme cold; the fourth one, on the other hand, only wore a purple cloak that covered his whole body.

"Master Gaul, I still don't know what we are doing here," said a pale girl with shoulder-length black hair. "I thought that you found the location."

"I did," replied the cloaked man. "But none of us has the strength to use the power we're looking for. And the only person left capable of it lies on this frozen wasteland."

"Speaking of which, how the hell can you wear so little clothes?" asked the other girl of the group, who had the same pale skin but long, brown hair, and was a bit taller than the first one. "I'm going to freeze..."

"Remember that I'm not bound to the curse of flesh anymore, Neyra," replied the man.

"I'm sure that, if we joined our forces, we would be able to master that power," said the first girl. "We're wasting our time here."

"It's not just that," said Gaul. "We're also in need of a strong leader that can direct us to our longtime goal. An army without a leader is totally ineffectual."

"What about you?" asked the girl again. "You've done a great job this time, and taught us a lot of things. You could be that leader. I don't know why we're doing this."

"Can you explain it to her, Kharel? I'm not in the mood," replied Gaul, a bit irritated.

"Sure," said the other man. He had short, spiked, black hair, was tall and bulky, and carried a large sword on his back. "Listen, Mirage, a sword is made of two parts, the blade and the handle, and can't work without both parts. Let's say that Gaul is the handle, and we're looking for the blade."

"I see..." replied Mirage.

"Nice metaphor, Kharel," praised Gaul.

"Thanks," said Kharel, proud.

"Maybe you aren't as much an idiot as I thought," said the cloaked man, much to Khrael's dismay. He then turned to Mirage, and gave her an item. It was a silver mask, completely flat, without any marking or adornment. In fact, it only had a small gap for the eyes. "Now, let's find him."

Mirage took the mask, touched it and closed her eyes. She murmured some words to herself, and, after some minutes, she pointed to the northwest.

"He's following that direction," said Mirage.

"How long, sis?" asked Neyra. Apparently, they were sisters.

"Forty kilometers. Maybe more."

"I knew we were near," said Gaul. "Let's move. We have a long trip ahead."

They spent several hours walking through the dark tunnels and icy paths of the Omega Dimension. From time to time, they saw people encased in an ice block. The man they looked for was in one, too

.

"Uh, I have a question," said Kharel. "If this place is supposed to be a prison, where are the guards?"

"There are no guards," answered Gaul. "This is the most inhospitable place in the known universe. The people who suggested ditching the worst criminals here knew that it is impossible to escape once you're dropped here, and that nobody would be crazy enough to come here voluntarily to free a prisoner."

"But...we're here exactly for that," said Neyra.

"Yes. And that was a mistake they'll forever regret," said Gaul.

"We almost arrived," said Mirage. "He's in that cave."

The group of four entered the cave, where a single block of ice stood. As expected, there was a person frozen inside. Said person, presumably a man, was wearing black armor over his whole body, under a black hooded cloak. Neyra took a closer look, and gasped.

"Dear Darkness!" shouted Neyra, repulsed. "What happened to him? His face is just..."

"It is the price you have to pay for a great power," said Gaul. "Come on, unfreeze him."

Neyra took off one of her gloves, and placed her hand on the ice block, and said a heat spell. Soon it started to melt. After it was completely melted, the man inside fell on his knees, letting out a faint shout. Kharel caught him in time.

"What the...?" the man murmured.

"Finally we found you, Master," said Gaul.

"That voice...Gaul...is that you?" asked the man in black, while Khrael helped him to stand up. His voice was deep and dark, and sounded very distorted.

"Yes, Master, it's me. We came here to free you."

The man in black looked behind Gaul's hood. "What happened to you?"

"I've...changed," replied Gaul. "Mirage, give the Master what is his."

The black haired girl, a bit unsure, gave him the silver mask, and he immediately put it on.

"How much time have I been here?" asked the masked man.

"Twenty years," was Gaul's response. "Now, let's go, there are a lot of things to do."


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 2: The Calm Before The Storm**

The next morning, Mirta and Lucy left the inn they were sleeping at, and took the first bus out of Magix. The first stop was Alfea.

"Well, I'm getting off here," said Mirta. "I'll tell Faragonda and the girls about what that guy told us."

"I'll tell the same to Griffin," said Lucy. "See you soon."

Mirta got off the bus, and entered Alfea. The summer was coming to its end, and a new school year was about to begin. Although all the freshmen would arrive at a marked date, so Faragonda could give them all a tour through Alfea together, some of the sophomore and junior students had already arrived. One of them immediately recognized Mirta.

"Mirta!" shouted a girl at the entrance. She immediately dropped her suitcases and rushed to hug the half-fairy.

"I didn't expect to see you this soon, Noelia," replied Mirta.

Noelia was a girl of average height with long, wavy black hair and dark blue eyes. She was wearing a red jacket over a white top, blue jeans that came over her knees and white sneakers.

"So, tell me, excited to start your last year here?" asked Mirta.

Noelia was two years younger than Mirta. They met during the latter's sophomore year. In fact, she also met the other two components of her small clique of friends in her sophomore year, so she was the oldest of them.

"Not really," replied Noelia, effectively a bit disappointed. "It's not going to be the same without you."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic, I'll be around," said Mirta. "Anyway, I'd love to stay and talk a bit more, but I have to talk with Ms. Faragonda about something really important."

"What a pity," said Noelia. "I can't wait for the year to finish and finally do important stuff with you! It looks so exciting!"

"First be sure to get your Enchantix, okay?" Mirta said before leaving.

"I'll say hello to Nova and Galatea for you," said Noelia, picking up her suitcases again.

Mirta headed to Faragonda's office. She knocked the door, and it opened by itself.

"Come in, Mirta," said Faragonda. Mirta took a seat. "Now tell me, did you find something important?"

"We think so," said Mirta. "Apparently, the guys responsible for the attacks on those libraries are looking something in a place called the Opal Nebula."

Faragonda leaned back, and frowned.

"Does that name mean something to you?" asked Mirta.

"Yes. There are some uninhabited planets there. The Company of the Light had a base in one of them, but it was destroyed by the Ancient Witch Coven," explained Faragonda.

"Why would somebody be interested in a ruined base?" asked Mirta.

"I don't know," said Faragonda. "But I don't want to wait to find out. We've stayed still for too long. I think that it's time to move."

…

In the Omega Dimension, Gaul, aided by Neyra and Mirage, had used their combined powers to build a fortress out of the ice. It wasn't too impressive, but it would serve as a provisional base. Neyra and Mirage opposed to putting up the base there, but Gaul reminded them that nobody would attack them where it was.

Gaul explained to the man in black what had happened in the last twenty years, and their failed plans to rebuild the Coven. And, most importantly, he told the man about his actual plan.

"So, you know where is it?" asked the masked man.

"Not exactly," replied the necromancer. "I know the place on a map that points to the Forge. If we had the Forge under our control again..." he then turned at his three pupils, who were silently listening to them. "I need a volunteer."

"I'll do it," offered Mirage.

"Alright, take this," said Gaul before tossing something at her. Mirage looked at it: it was a talisman.

"I won't need it," bluffed Mirage.

"Just in case," said Gaul. "It wouldn't be odd if there were somebody on our track. Maybe you'll ever have to face to those Winx pests..."

"Nothing would make me happier," said Mirage with a sadistic glee, before leaving.

"Hope that brat is successful," said Gaul. "If we could control the Forge again..."

"Yes, we could deal a huge blow to the Company of the Light..."

"Not only that, but you could regain your former strength," added Gaul. "The Heart of Oblivion is there."

A moment of silence. Then the man in black decided to change the topic.

"Gaul, where did you find those kids?"

"In my many travels. They still have a lot to learn, but they have potential. In fact, if it wasn't for them, I would never have freed you."

"I see..." said the man in black. "I think that I'm going to take the lad and the girl with me for a special task..."

"But Master, do you think it is safe? You haven't rested enough, and without the Heart your powers can be dangerous..."

"Don't call into question my powers, Gaul," threatened the masked man.

"I'm sorry, Master. By the way, what do you want me to do meanwhile?" asked the necromancer.

"I want you to do this," said the man in black, and make a hand gesture. An illusion appeared before him. "Do you think you can do it?"

"Of course. How many?"

"As many as you can. We need to build an attack force as soon as possible."

"As you wish."

"Now, teleport the kids and I to Magix."

Neyra opened her mouth for first time.

"Uh...excuse me, Master, but, what are we going to do?"

"To do what your Void Lord failed at."

...

Back at Alfea, Faragonda had already told the members of the Winx Club and the specialists about what Mirta and Lucy had found out. They were all now in the Alfea courtyard.

"So, what are we going to look for?" asked Bloom.

"We don't know it," said Faragonda. "But what we do know is that it is something important."

"Don't worry, Ms. F. You can count on us!" said Layla, cheerful.

"Hey, where's Tecna?" asked Stella, noticing that her pink-haired friend was missing.

"Timmy isn't here either..." remarked Sky.

"Oh, they're on their way here," said Musa. "Tecna told me to wait for her and Timmy here, and that they had a surprise for us."

"Surprise? What kind of surprise?" asked Riven.

"I don't know," shrugged Musa. "But she said that she was expecting something like this to happen in order to show us..."

"I think that we're about to find out," interjected Flora. "Look up!"

Everybody looked at the sky, and saw a big silver-colored spaceship. It had a silver fuselage in the shape of an arrow, with two big wings on each side. When the ship landed, they could see that the bridge was in the front. They saw Tecna and Timmy waving at them from the inside, while they opened the ship's entrance.

"Come in, guys," said Tecna's voice through a speaker.

Impressed with the ship, everybody except Faragonda rushed to enter. In fact, the inside of the ship was much more impressive than the outside, and it even looked bigger. Tecna and Timmy welcomed them.

"Welcome to the _Prometheus_," said Tecna. "What do you think of it?"

"It's awesome!" beamed Layla. "You did it all by yourself?"

"Well, Timmy helped me as well with the blueprints," said Tecna. "However, building it wasn't too hard, thanks to my powers."

"The _Prometheus _is the fastest ship for space flights," interjected Timmy. "It's equipped with everything that is necessary for a long mission, several bedrooms, hangar for starfighters, and many more things."

"Does it have a bathroom?" asked Stella. Everybody glared at her. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"Oh, but this ship is not the only thing we've been working on. Tecna?"

Tecna then summoned a bag full of what it seemed golden coins, and gave one to each of the girls. In fact, the items were bigger than a golden coin, and there were four fairy wings shaped like an X in one of its sides: the Winx symbol.

"What is this?" asked Stella.

"Another of our inventions: the Winx Badge," said Tecna. "This device has many useful functions, such as communication with other badges, holographic maps, GPS, and many more."

"It's like a cell phone, only better," summarized Timmy.

"Hey, don't we get any cool toy like that?" asked Brandon a bit disappointed. Tecna giggled.

"Don't be jealous, we made some for you boys as well," said Tecna, giving Brandon and the other specialists a badge.

"This will be really helpful for our mission," said Bloom. "You guys are incredible."

"Oh, it's nothing," said Tecna, blushing a bit.

"Speaking of the mission," interjected Faragonda, who remained silent while her former students delighted with Tecna's spacecraft. "I think that it's about time to move. Time is vital."

"Don't worry, Ms. F!" said Stella. "Come on, guys, let's go to that Opal Nebula place!"

"Wait a minute," said Faragonda. "I think that only some of you should go. I'd rather prefer to have some of you here if something else happens."

"I want to go!" said Layla.

"Me too!" said Musa.

"Count me in as well," said Flora.

That meant that Riven, Helia and Nabu were going too. Nobody asked them, but they seemed to be alright.

"Only Timmy and me know how to pilot this spaceship, so one of us should go as well," said Tecna.

"I'll go, if it's okay with you, Tec," said Timmy.

"Alright, we will stay here and be ready for action if something happens," said Bloom.

Bloom, Sky and the others waved them goodbye and good luck with the mission, and saw the spaceship taking off.

"So, what are we going to do meanwhile?" asked Stella.

"We should head back to Red Fountain," suggested Brandon. "And help Saladin with the preparations for the new school year."

"I guess that we should do the same," said Bloom.

…

Far away from there, in a castle situated on another planet, two people are talking: a young boy, no older than eighteen, and a grown woman in her early forties.

"We've been informed that our enemies are moving," said the woman. "And that they are looking for the map."

"Do you think that they found their location?" asked the boy.

"I'm afraid so," said the woman with sorrow.

"But that's impossible! Only _we_ know where it is! Not even King Oritel knows!" said the boy.

"Never underestimate the enemy, my son," replied the woman. "We don't know what kind of tactics the enemy used, but we can't afford any risk. The map isn't safe anymore. Go and take it here. I know that you won't fail, son."

"I won't, mother," said the boy, and left the room.

The woman saw his son leaving for the mission, alone, and thought if she could ask for help from any member of the Company. Maybe Faragonda or the monarchs of Domino. No. Too risky. Maybe their enemies eavesdropped on them, and that was how they got the location of the map.

She prayed for her son to succeed in his complicated mission. If that map fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be horrible.

…

Like in Alfea and Red Fountain, many witches were already in Cloud Tower. Many witches greeted Lucy when she returned to Cloud Tower, but she didn't stop for a chat, and went to talk with Griffin straight away. Griffin thanked her for her good job, and told her to take a well-deserved rest. Soon she would receive a call from Faragonda that would tell her about the exploration mission to the Opal Nebula.

Feeling a bit of nostalgia, Lucy decided to pay a visit to her old bedroom, and remember the years she spent at the school of witches. However, when she arrived there, she saw that there were already two girls in it, unpacking their stuff.

"Uh?" asked one of the girls.

"Oh, sorry, I thought that this room was empty..." apologized Lucy before realizing who was in her former room. "...wait a minute...Ember? Electra?"

"Lucy!" said the two girls in unison. "It's been ages since we saw you!" said Ember.

Ember was a pale-skinned girl with long black hair styled in a high ponytail, and wore a purple strap shirt, sneakers, and big, loose black trousers. Electra had short blonde hair, and wore a blue tank-top and a dark blue skirt that came down to her knees.

"So, how has the summer been?" asked Lucy.

"Cool," said Electra. "We needed some time to recover from the post traumatic stress, but it was fine!"

The three girls laughed in unison.

"I saw that you came rather early," said Lucy.

"Well, my parents insisted," said Ember with a shrug. "They weren't too pleased with my grades from the last year, and told me to come early so I could have a 'good start'. In fact, my sister is in Alfea already too."

Lucy then turned at Electra.

"What about you?"

"I didn't plan to come here until classes began, but she insisted," said the blonde witch.

"Hey! It's too boring to be alone here!" said Ember. "There's still a week until the classes start!"

"Anyway, I hope I don't see any of your practical jokes," said Lucy, half-chastising her.

"Oh, it was only once," said Ember, laughing. "And you must admit that it was funny!"

The last year, Lucy had to stand in for one of the teachers who fell ill, and, knowing that Lucy was going to teach, Ember put a cushion in her chair. Said cushion was full of burning coals. Lucy took the prank better than expected, although she was obviously angry at Ember for it.

"We're going to the cafeteria, wanna join us?" asked Electra.

"Sure!"

Meanwhile, outside Cloud Tower, three figures appeared out of nowhere: two men and a woman.

"Here we are," said the man in black. "Let's claim what belong to us."

**Author's Note:** Well, the bad guys began to move! Yeah, I know that poor Gaul was left behind, but don't worry, his time to shine will come. He now needs to stay in Omega and do what the man in black the way, who's this man in black? Keep reading to find it!

I always wanted Tecna to be more useful. TYes, I know that she's useful, so Tecna fans, don't kill me XD but I always thought that he could do much more.

Also, regarding Noelia, Ember and Electra: despite being introduced this early, they're not going to do too much for now (specially Noelia), but be patient, they will be important in a future arc.

Thanks to Stills for betareading, and to everybody who reviewed the last chapter.


	3. Under Attack

**Chapter 3: Under Attack**

Outside of Cloud Tower, the man in black, Kharel, and Neyra were ready to launch an assault at Cloud Tower. Since they weren't in the Omega Dimension, the man in black's followers didn't wear winter clothes: Neyra wore a yellow and brown knee short sleeved long dress , adorned with many jewels and talismans, and brown sandals, while Kharel wore red plate armor that covered his whole body, minus his head.

"Okay, Gaul told me about your abilities, and this is what we're going to do," the man in black began. "Neyra, we'll need a distraction. Something that will keep the few witches here busy while I seek Griffin."

"Alright," said Neyra.

"Once we're in, I also want you to get hold of Cloud Tower. That would make things easier."

"What about me, Master?" asked Kharel.

"You'll neutralize the witches one by one," said the man in black. "But do not harm them...too much."

"Understood."

"Now, let the party start..."

…

Lucy, Ember and Electra were in their way to the cafeteria.

"I forgot to tell you the best thing," said Lucy. "Griffin promoted me to teacher of the Combat and Self-Defense class this year."

"Wow, congratulations, Lucy!" greeted Ember.

"You totally deserve it. You're the best witch I've ever met, not counting Griffin," praised Electra.

"Yeah, it's going to be great and..." was about to say Ember, when she realized that Lucy was smiling wickedly. "Wait a minute, it's not! You're going to put me through hell for that practical joke, aren't you?"

"You should already know that a witch always seeks revenge," said Lucy. "See? The school year hasn't started yet and you already learn a very valuable lesson: don't mess with somebody that can make you pay. _Badly._"

"What a good teacher you are, Lucy!" joked Electra.

"You're mean..." said Ember, a bit saddened. "...and you rock so much for it!" she said, in a completely opposite mood.

"Don't waste your time flattering me, it won't work," said Lucy. "But for trying, I think that I'm not going to be too hard with your retribution."

"Hey, I was being sincere and..."

But Ember's words were interrupted by a huge explosion that shattered the glass in the windows, knocking them down. Suddenly, a swarm of red-winged demons entered in the building, attacking everything they saw.

"What the hell is this?" asked Electra.

"Don't know! But it's not a drill, that's for sure!" said Lucy.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Ember.

"What do you think, genius?" said Lucy standing up. "Viper Fang!"

Lucy channeled a blue and green beam at one of the demons. The demon began to melt in agony like it has been bathed in acid. However, Lucy's attack attracted the attention of other demons. They flew at the witches, casting blazing beams.

"Come on, girls, I can't hold them all! What are you waiting for?" said Lucy, angered at her friends' passivity.

"S-sorry, Lucy! Thundering Pulse!" said Electra, casting a lightning bolt at a bunch of demons.

"Molten Bolt!" said Ember shooting a ball of magma at them.

The trio of witches kept fighting the demons, but they were interminable. Lucy ordered them to move so they could reunite with other witches and join forces, but they found nobody. There were too few witches to protect the school.

"Damn, we can't hold them forever!" said Electra.

"Why isn't Griffin using the school to protect us?" asked Ember.

"_I'd like to know that too,"_ thought Lucy. She then did the only thing she could: picked up her cell phone and dialed a number.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling for reinforcements."

...

"I think that we should have offered ourselves for that mission first," said Stella, expressing her boredom.

Stella, along with Bloom, Tecna and Mirta, were in one of the common rooms having a talk.

"Come on, Stella, they'll do it fine," said Bloom.

"It's not that," said Stella. "They're going to have all the fun while we're stuck here."

"Remember what Faragonda said," interjected Mirta. "We have to stay here if something happens."

"Like what?"

"They could attack Alfea. Or Cloud Tower. Or Red Fountain. Or Magix. Or..." said Tecna.

"Okay, I get it!" interrupted Stella. "But are you telling me that, if we weren't here, nobody would be able to protect those places?"

"Who knows?" said Bloom. "But it's our duty."

"Bloom's right," said Tecna. "What we should do is rest and save our energy for the right moment."

"Although, now that you say it, how do you think the world would be if none of us existed?"

Their conversation was disrupted by Mirta's cell phone.

"Hey, it's Lucy," said Mirta. "Wonder what she wants..."

…

Griffin already felt that the school was under attack, but she also felt that there was somebody trying to control Cloud Tower. She couldn't let it happen. She had to fight with all her might not to lose it. Once she regained the full control of the school, the rest would be easy. However, she still couldn't help but think of the witches that were already here. Hopefully, they could defend themselves.

It was that moment when the headmistress felt a dark presence...that she hadn't felt in twenty years.

…

The Main Hall was full of the bodies of unconscious witches. One of them was conscious, and trying to escape. Kharel, the red knight, wielding his impressive sword, walked towards her, slowly. The witch tried to defend herself by shooting a blast of energy at the red knight, but he used his sword to deflect it.

"No, please, don't hurt me..." said the defenseless witch, almost crying.

"It isn't that cute? She's begging for my mercy," laughed Kharel.

"You're a witch, and witches don't cry! Don't be so pathetic! Show some pride!" said Neyra, who was offended by the witch's attitude.

Kharel raised his sword, which began to glow blue. The sword then shot a beam of energy at the witch, knocking her unconscious.

"Mmmmm...tasty," said Kharel in delight.

"Good job, you two," said the man in black. "How are your demons doing?"

"Fine," replied Neyra. "They've already occupied the three lower floors."

"Excellent," said the man in black. "Neyra, is the time to take over the tower. Kharel, you'll have to protect her meanwhile."

Both underlings nodded in response.

"I have to settle scores with an old friend of mine..."

…

"Hey, Lucy, what's up?" asked Mirta in a happy tone. "Slow down! What's going on?"

The other three girls tried to figure out what they were talking about.

"What! But that's impos-" said Mirta before being interrupted by Lucy. "Okay, yes, find Griffin, we will tell Faragonda before going there!" Mirta then hung up.

"I deduce that something bad happened in Cloud Tower," said Tecna.

"Yes! Lucy said that the school has been attacked by demons!" said Mirta. "We have to go and help them!"

"Two attacks in three months," said Bloom. "They must be the same guys who sent the Void Lord to take over it."

"It's the most logical conclusion," said Tecna. "Well, now we have a chance to capture them and find some answers."

"Come on, we need to be there as fast as possible!" urged Mirta.

"Unfortunately, we'll take at least half an hour flying."

"Hey, did you already forget that I have a wonderful ring that can take us whenever I want?" said Stella, showing her ring. "We'll be there in a blink!"

"Okay, we'll first have to tell Faragonda about what's going on before leaving," said Bloom, and the other girls nodded in response. "Guess that it was a good thing that Faragonda made us to stay here after all."

...

Lucy, Ember and Electra made their way through the swarm of demons to Griffin's office. Lucy suggested that staying with the headmistress was the best thing to do, and her two friends agreed. They didn't meet any fellow witches, which only made them worried. Lucy kept repeating that the place was half empty, to kept them calmed. However, they were soon going to face an enemy much more dreadful than said demons.

"Come on, Griffin's office is near!" said Lucy, trying to cheer her friends up.

"What about the reinforcements you talked about?" asked Ember.

"They're on their way," replied Lucy.

Suddenly, Lucy began to felt weird...like time itself stopped, or like the fabric of reality was being deformed. And then, he saw him.

A man wearing a black hooded cloak over black armor and a silver mask appeared from a nearby hallway. The three girls froze in shock at the impressive figure of the stranger, who had stopped to look at them. They felt an immense power coming from the masked man. Of course, all of them concluded that that man was behind the ensuing chaos.

"Who are you?" was able to say Lucy.

"I came here to save you," said the man.

Upon hearing the man's deep and distorted voice, the three witches felt their hearts shrink.

Lucy then realized that she couldn't be afraid. With no other teachers in sight, she was responsible for those girls, who were her friends as well. She had to be brave.

"Listen, weirdo," said Lucy, trying to hide her fear. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but nobody enters here, attack the witches of this school and causes such massive damage and goes without a punishment, so there!"

Lucy's rant took the desired effect, although only partially. The man in black wasn't so impressed, but at least Ember and Electra weren't scared anymore, or that's what it seemed.

"Well said, Lucy!" said Ember.

"I like your attitude, you're a good witch," said the man. "However, you're very unwise. Now, get out of the way, or I'll be forced to kill you."

"Ohhhh, look at me, I'm shivering!" mocked Lucy. However, her face quickly turned serious, and cast a very powerful blast of energy at the man in black.

The man, however, just waved his hand, and a shadowy barrier appeared before him, protecting him from Lucy's attack.

"My turn," said the man calmly. He clenched his fist, and cast a black beam of energy at Lucy. The surprised witch took the attack at full force.

Far from being intimidated, Ember and Electra reacted accordingly and cast bolts of magma and lightning respectively at their foe. The man in black used the same shield as before, nullifying the witches' attacks. He then slammed the floor with his right foot, causing the whole building to shake, knocking back the three witches.

"Come on girls," said Lucy while she and the others stood up. "All together now! Viper Fang!"

"Vulcan Cannon!" shouted Ember.

"Eye of the Storm!" yelled Electra.

The man did not raise any shield this time, but raised both hands, glowing black.

"Nightmare Current!" said the man, casting a wide bolt of dark energy.

The four attacks clashed, creating a huge explosion. The shockwave knocked the girls back once again. However, the man in black came out of the smoke, totally unharmed.

"He's too strong! We can't beat him!" said a desperate Ember.

"I see that you're now aware of your mistake," said the man. "Too bad that it's too late for you..."

Only a miracle would save them now. However, a miracle happened when a wall grew from the floor, separating Lucy and her friends from the dreadful man in black. She then heard Griffin's voice in her head.

"_I just recovered the control of the tower. Meet me at the Heart,"_ said Griffin.

At last, Lucy felt some relief.

…

Bloom, Stella, Tecna and Mirta appeared in the middle of the first floor of Cloud Tower. Stella's memory of Cloud Tower wasn't too accurate, so she told the others that they could appear anywhere. Mirta, however, recognized the place.

"Hope we're not too late," said Mirta.

"Girls, we're not alone!" said Stella, pointing to the bunch of demons that fluttered around the place. They also noticed the newcomers.

"Come on, Enchantix!" shouted Bloom, and she and the rest of the girls transformed into their advanced fairy forms.

They felt that the demons weren't much of a challenge, since apart from flying really fast and shoot fireballs, they didn't do too much. However, their strength lay in their massive numbers.

"I'd like to check if Lucy is okay," said Mirta.

"Then go!" said Bloom.

"Are you sure?" asked Mirta. "I don't want to leave you in the lurch..."

"Don't worry! We will be fine!" said Tecna while dodging a fireball.

Still feeling a bit remorseful, Mirta left the group to find Lucy, and possibly any other witch.

Minutes later, Bloom, Stella and Tecna already destroyed all the demons of the first floor.

"Boy, that was easy," said Stella.

"Too easy," said Bloom, suspicious.

"I agree," said Tecna. "This was probably the tip of the iceberg. We should move to the next floor."

"Hey, what's that?" asked Bloom, pointing at something lying near a door.

They came close, and they found that it was the body of a witch. Tecna took her pulse, and sighed.

"She's alive," said Tecna. "But very exhausted."

"Maybe she used all of her energy fighting," deduced Stella.

"I don't think so," replied Tecna. "You said yourself that those demons were too weak to be a serious menace, and Cloud Tower witches aren't weaklings either. Besides, it's like..."

"Like what?" asked Stella.

"Like something drained her energy." said Tecna. Bloom and Stella opened her eyes wide.

Bloom then spotted more witches lying unconscious across the floor, like a trail. Tecna checked them all, and her conclusion was the same. They followed the trail of bodies, until they founf the culprits: a man in a red armor, looking at a woman who, apparently, was channeling a spell. The man didn't take too long to notice them.

"Neyra, cut it off, we have company," said Kharel.

Neyra stopped the spell, and looked at the newcomers.

"Fairies? What are they doing here?" asked Neyra.

"Who cares!" said Kharel while drawing his sword. The sword glowed again, and cast a beam at the girls. However, the girls dodged it gracefully, and Bloom lost no time to counterattack.

"Dragon Fury!" yelled Bloom, while a dragon made of fire came out of her hands and blasted the red knight, knocking him unconscious.

"Kharel!" shouted Neyra, and then looked at the Winx with hateful eyes. "You're going to pay for this!"

The sorceress then cast a red fireball that had an eerie dark glow at Stella, but the fairy of the sun dodged it.

"Ha! You missed!" mocked Stella.

"I don't think so," replied Neyra, smiling evilly at her.

Tecna then saw how the passing fireball turned around and dive-bombed at Stella again.

"Stella, watch out!" shouted Tecna.

"Uh?" asked Stella.

But Stella didn't react in time, and got hit by the fiery spell.

"You two are next," said Neyra, summoning three small fireballs between her hands. "Dance of the Raging Flames!"

The sorceress released the three fireballs at Bloom and Tecna. They dodged them, but as expected, the three fireballs turned around and followed them like they were alive. Instead of dodging them again, Bloom decided to fight fire with fire and cast a fireball at one of Neyra's projectiles, blasting it.

"Ha! Do you think that you can avoid my attack that easily, fairy?" laughed Neyra.

Bloom them watched in shock how the living fireball reformed from smoke, and chased her again.

"Bloom, come here!" said Tecna. When Bloom was near her, she cast one of her signature spells. "Firewall!"

A laser cage surrounded the two fairies, but the three living fireballs attacked it relentlessly. Meanwhile, Stella recovered from the attack.

"Okay, I'm starting to get sick of this!" said an angry Stella, and took her ring, tossed it up, and in mid-air, it transformed it into a scepter. "Don't worry, girls! Stella to the rescue!"

Stella's scepter began to glow with a golden light, and the living fireballs suddenly turned golden as well. They stopped burning the Firewall, rushed at Neyra and blasted the confused sorceress' chest, knocking her away.

"_So, she can turn dark spells against its users..."_ deduced the aching sorceress.

"Good job, Stella!" praised Tecna.

"Yeah, you totally...!" was about to say Bloom, until she was stunned by an energy beam coming from her back. She then returned to her civilian outfit, and fell to the ground unconscious. Stella caught her in time.

Tecna then saw that the knight was again on his feet, holding his magic sword, aiming at Bloom.

"Bloom! Bloom!" yelled Stella. But Bloom didn't answer. She feared the worst, but fortunately, Bloom was breathing.

"What did you did to her?" asked Tecna.

"Why don't you come here and find out for yourself?" asked the knight. "So, this is the Dragon Fire? I've never experienced this before! What a rush!" said the knight, euphoric.

"What...what did you say?" asked Stella, terrified.

"He stole Bloom's powers!" said Tecna in horror.

"Yes, and soon I'll have yours as well," said the knight, sporting sadistic glee. "Now perish!"

The knight waved his hand and cast a wave of fire at Stella and Tecna. The fairy of technology summoned a shield to protect herself, Stella, and Bloom. It resisted the attack, but left Tecna exhausted.

"We can't fight him," said Tecna. "We have to escape!"

"I'll get Bloom!" said Stella. Stella wasn't physically strong, but Bloom was a very thin girl, so Stella could hold her in her arms easily. Tecna, Stella and an unconscious Bloom flew away.

"Yes! Run away, little fairies! Run!" said the knight, before letting out a maniac laugh.

…

Mirta was on her way to find Lucy when she saw a bunch of witches fighting an army of those red demons. She was about to join them; however, dire mouths appeared on the walls. Many tongues came out from the mouths, trapping the demons, and swallowing them. The demons yelled in terror before being engulfed by the building itself. The witches cheered in unison.

Mirta spoke with the witches, and they told her that Griffin had summoned them to the core of Cloud Tower. Mirta joined them.

During their short trip to Cloud Tower's heart, they were ambushed by many demons, but they didn't have to fight, since the school destroyed the demons for them. They knew that it was Griffin. Soon they arrived at the core, where Griffin and a dozen witches were gathered. Lucy was one of them.

"Lucy!" said Mirta, and rushed to hug her.

"Mirta! I'm so happy to see you!" said Lucy. "Did you come alone?"

"No, Bloom, Stella and Tecna are in the lower floors, clearing the place of demons. Although I see that you already have this under control."

"Unfortunately, we don't," said Lucy.

"What do you mean?" asked a puzzled Mirta.

"Get ready, everybody! He's coming!" said Griffin. All the witches adopted a fighting stance.

"Who's coming?" asked Mirta.

Mirta's answer came in the form of an explosion that tore down one of the walls of the core chamber. From the hole, a terrifying man in black appeared. Mirta was shocked.

"What is this? A fairy?" asked the man, outraged. "Is this what Cloud Tower has bocame? Another school for fairies? You're a bigger traitor than I thought, Griffin..."

"You know that guy?" asked a random witch.

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Griffin. "I met him in my time with the Coven. But...how can you be here? You should be in the Omega dimension!"

"Let's skip the tiny details, shall we?" asked the masked man.

"Why did you come here? What do you want?" asked Griffin

"To claim what does not belong to you. Cloud Tower belongs to the Ancient Witch Coven," said the man.

"The Coven does not exist anymore!" replied Griffin.

"I beg to differ," said the man in black. "Now, you'll die alongside your corrupted witches, and from your ashes, a new Cloud Tower will be born. Your sacrifice will mark the dawn of a new age...an age that should have begun decades ago! "

"You're insane!"

"Probably. To spend twenty years encased in a block of ice can do that to the mind. Now, instruct your students to refrain from fighting, since it will be useless." The man then summoned a small ball of black fire between his hands.

Griffin was shocked; she knew what he was about to do.

"Now, burn, Cloud Tower, and be reborn!" yelled the man, expanding the black fire. "Flames of the Black Sun, release!"

Black flames began to spread everywhere, surrounding the terrified witches. The flames also began to devour the light of the room, plunging everything into darkness.

"This is the end!" said a witch.

"I don't think so!" said Mirta, who flew above the flames, and took the vial from her neck. "Now, fairy dust, put out this fire!" said Mirta, pouring out her fairy dust. However, the flames did not shrink. "It doesn't work!"

"Of course it doesn't work, you stupid fairy!" shouted the man in black, while he walked forward. The flames moved along with him. "Now all of you will-AAAARGHHHH!"

The man in black suddenly fell on his knees, and grabbed his chest. Waves of pain scourged his body. The flames began to shrink.

Lucy took a step forward, and cast a green ball of energy that blasted the masked man in the chest, knocking him backwards. The flames disappeared completely.

"You attacked me the second I became vulnerable..." said the man, trying to stand up. "Maybe you aren't a bad witch after all."

"It seems that you have reached your limit," deduced Griffin, walking toward the now-defenseless man in black. "I hope that you liked the Omega Dimension, because you're going back!"

However, a cloud of smoke appeared between Griffin and the man in black. The smoke quickly vanished, revealing a man covered by a purple cloud. The man raised a gloved hand, and cast a shockwave at Griffin, pushing her back.

"I told you this would happen," said the cloaked man.

"Shut up," said the man in black, resentful. "And get us out of here."

Another cloud of smoke enveloped the two men. When the cloud vanished, nobody was there.

…

Hours later, Griffin, along with Mirta, Lucy, Stella and Tecna, were talking in her office. Bloom, finally conscious, was lying on a couch. Stella sat beside her. All the intruders had been successfully repelled, but many of the witches were gravely injured.

"Bloom...what have they done to you..." said Stella, while stroking her red hair. She remembered when the Trix stripped Bloom of her powers. Stella wondered if she could get them back again.

"Don't worry...I'm okay..." whispered Bloom weakly.

"There's no doubt," said Griffin. "Those guys were behind the attack from three months ago. It's obvious that they want Cloud Tower."

"Fortunately, this time they didn't succeed," said Lucy. "Cloud Tower has been invaded too many times, in my opinion."

"I don't think that Cloud Tower was their only goal," said Tecna who was typing something in her PDA.

"What do you mean?" asked Mirta.

"I think that the recent attacks of some royal libraries were perpetrated by our adversaries as well. In fact, we fought a warrior and a witch that agreed with the description of the attackers and—hey, I found it!" said Tecna.

"Found what?" asked Stella.

"The sword that guy used to steal Bloom's powers. It's an ancient artifact named the Sword of Bane." said Tecna. The pink haired girl began to read the description. "It was created in a place called the Forge of Nightmares, and its main ability is to drain energy from the target."

The Forge of Nightmares. That name sounded familiar to everybody in that room.

"However, the effect only lasts a few hours, and the stolen powers will go back to its owner over time. So, Bloom will recover her powers soon."

Stella let out a sigh of relief. Bloom also sported a shy smile.

Tecna then remembered the unconscious witches they found. That guy probably stripped off their powers the same way he did with Bloom. Without their powers, they were unable to defend themselves.

"By the way, who was that man, Ms. Griffin?" asked Lucy. Lucy and Mirta had already told the Winx girls about the man in black.

"As I told you before, he was a member of the Ancient Witch Coven. One of Valtor's apprentices," the old witch said. Bloom snapped when she heard the name of her former nemesis.

"If that guy was trained by Valtor, then he must be somebody to be afraid of," deduced Tecna.

"Well, maybe 'apprentice' wasn't the most appropriate word," said Griffin.

"What do you mean?"

"As you probably know, Valtor was obsessed with becoming the most powerful sorcerer known, and, to achieve his goal, he stole spells and source of energy here and there,"

"Yeah, we know," said Bloom sourly.

"Many of the spells he stole, however, were too dangerous or unpredictable, and Valtor wasn't stupid enough to test them on himself. That's why he gathered a small group of acolytes that would test the spells for him. Many of them died after finding themselves unable to control the forces they unleashed."

"And why anybody would risk his life in doing Valtor's dirty job?" asked Stella.

"Because Valtor was a master manipulator," Griffin replied. "He promised them great power, which was true to some extent. That's why Valtor's 'apprentices' saw him as a benevolent master, and swore blind loyalty to him and the Coven, but Valtor only saw them as disposable guinea pigs."

"And that man in black was one of them?" asked Mirta.

"Yes, one of the few who did survive."

"I remember," Bloom began "that when we fought the Trix, they sometimes had new powers. Do you think that Valtor was using them as guinea pigs as well?"

"Probably," replied Griffin.

"Geez, I can't believe that so many people where so reckless as to let Valtor to experiment on them," said Stella out of disgust.

Griffin felt a bit of remorse. She almost became one of his guinea pigs, seduced by promises of power.

"Once again, thanks for your help, fairies. I hope someday we find a way to repay you," said Griffin.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Stella.

"Can we stay here until Bloom gets better?" asked Tecna.

"Of course you can," said Griffin. "But you should take her to a more comfortable place. Maybe one of the empty rooms?"

"Okay, thanks for the suggestion," said Stella, helping Bloom to get up before leaving the room. Tecna, Mirta and Lucy left the office with Stella as well.

Cloud Tower was safe. However, they had been unable to defeat their foes, and couldn't help but feel that their victory was the fruit of coincidence. The next time, they probably wouldn't be so lucky.

Tecna thought of Timmy and the rest of their friends on their way to the Opal Nebula, wondering what kind of enemies they had to face.

...

**Author's note: **So, we finally got some action! But don't worry, it doesn't end here. Remember that Mirage is waiting for Timmy' group in the Opal Nebula. By the way, thanks again to my beta Stills, who told me that the order of some scenes make it a bit confusing to read. I rearranged it and now I think that it looks better. Oh, and thanks to RT and Darev, who told me that I was writting Prometheus wrong. It's now fixed.

The Man in Black was part of the Ancient Witch Coven, as some of you probably guessed, but there's moreabout him. Much more. Oh, and Gaul ;) I'm glad that you like him.

And Kharel...it came to me when I was thinking in an enemy the Winx couldn't defeat but the specialists could. It was a bit unfair for them being always pushovers due to their lack of magic powers.

Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter, and thanks a lot to all the people who reviewed this story. And remember, the action will keep going for a couple of chapters ;)


	4. Digging in the Past

**Chapter 4: Digging the Past**

While half of the Winx Club helped the Cloud Tower witches to repel an invasion, the other half was far away from Magix on an exploration mission.

"Danpal on sight," announced Timmy.

Danpal was the name of the planet they were about to visit, where the Company had one of their bases. Although there were other planets inside the Nebula, Danpal was the only one that had something of interest. The rest of them were not only uninhabited, but they didn't house any kind of lifeforms.

"Okay, the scanner says that the atmosphere is breathable," Timmy continued. "Is everybody ready?"

Riven then asked the obvious: "Wait a minute, do we even know what we're doing here? What are we looking for?"

"Didn't you hear Faragonda?" asked Layla "There's something big here, and we have to find it before our enemies."

"Exactly," confirmed Timmy. "I'll drop you near the base, and once there, you'll register the place and pick up everything suspicious or interesting."

Danpal was like a big, desolated desert. All they could see were rock formations, and no sign of animals or plants. There weren't any rivers or lakes either. After some minutes, they could see said base from the ship's windows.

"There's a good place to land," said Helia, pointing to a nearby plain.

"We're not going to land," said Timmy.

"So, how are we going to reach the ground, jumping from the ship?" asked Riven. "I don't know if you realized, but not all of us can fly."

"Don't worry, Riven, I can carry you in my arms," joked Musa. Everybody laughed, except Riven, who frowned at her.

"Just go to the ship's hangar. There's a white, circular platform. Go there and wait." said Timmy.

The group of six did what Timmy said, and went to the hangar, which was empty at the moment. It seemed that Tecna and Timmy didn't build any starfighter or other single-seater ship. They immediately saw the white circular platform, and stepped in.

"Okay, now everybody stand still," said Timmy through a speaker.

The white platform then began to glow. The loud sound of an engine below them filled their ears, just before a white a flash and a deafening sound. The next second, they were on the planet's surface.

As expected, Danpal had a hot climate. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which confirmed the lack of water.

"So, the ship teleported us to the ground instead of landing," said Nabu. "Really ingenious."

"There's the base," said Musa, pointing at the huge building. "We should start searching."

"I don't like this place," said Flora. "I can't feel plants or any kind of life anywhere."

"Well, the Ancient Witches were here," said Riven. "I guess absolute desolation and emptiness is their idea of how a planet should look."

A loud beep was heard. Layla then pulled her Winx Badge from her pocket: it was blinking. Layla pressed one of its sides like a button, and the blinking stopped. The badge then projected an image of Timmy.

"Timmy here. Do you copy me, Layla?" asked Timmy's voice from the badge.

"Loud and clear," Layla replied.

"Okay, the transmission works correctly," Timmy said. "Listen to me: the badges are connected between themselves and to the ship's computer, you can use it to see where any of you are in case you take separate ways, and to talk with each other. It will also allow me to keep track of you, so please don't lose it, okay?"

"Uh, how does it work?" asked Flora.

"It's very easy. Just touch one of the sides, and think what you want to do: track the others, or speak with any of them," explained Timmy.

"Alright, let's go," said Riven, walking toward the ruined base.

"Wait a minute, the ship's radar is scanning the area," Timmy said, "so I can have a detailed map of the place to guide you guys."

"Wow, Timmy, you're on the top of everything!" praised Helia.

"Well, I'm the brain of the group, right?" said Timmy, letting out a small laugh. "Okay, scanner complete, you can go in."

"Finally," mumbled Riven.

They headed to the ruined base. The base was a huge tower that got narrower at its highest peak, surrounded by a thick wall. The wall, however, had many holes and collapsed parts, so it wasn't a problem. Nabu broke the silence:

"Hey, what happens if somebody has been here already and took what we're looking for?" the wizard asked.

They suddenly stopped. None of them had thought of that possibility. His girlfriend answered: "Then we would have a big problem."

"Let's think more positively," said Flora, since nobody said anything.

Suddenly, their badges began to blink again. As expected, it was Timmy.

"What's up, Timmy?" asked Helia.

"The radar detected something," Timmy said. "Two more ships. A cruiser and a small starfighter."

All of them looked at each other worriedly. Flora was partially right: somebody got there earlier, but they were still there. They still had a chance

"You are not alone, so be careful, guys."

…

Mirage didn't know what she was thinking when she volunteered to look for the map. She expected to have some action, maybe a good fight against some members of the Company, in which she could show off her powers. However, she spent almost four hours looking for that map, until she found it on the very last floor of the building.

Besides, it was much bigger on the inside that what it looked like on the outside.

At least she found it. Now all what she had to do was get onto the ship, leave that planet, never return to it, and go back to Omega. Maybe she could make up a story about how she defeated dozens of warriors trying to protect the map. On second thought, it wasn't a good idea. Gaul would know that she was lying. Hell, that guy always knew when somebody was lying. And, unlike her, he couldn't read minds.

Suddenly, she stopped when a far-off sound reached her ears. At first she disregarded it, thinking that it was an animal that took refuge in the ruined base. But then she realized that she hadn't seen a single animal since she arrived. Not even flies or insects.

"Better safe than sorry," Mirage told herself, joined the palm of her hands, closed her eyes, and expanded her mind. The image of three girls and three boys entering the building appeared in her mind.

"Some fun at last," the witch said, rubbing her hands together.

…

Little did Mirage know that there was a seventh guy her psychic radar did not detect, a man wearing a light brown cloak that had been spying on her since she arrived. However, the stranger knew how to hide his presence, even from magical detectors.

He was about to ambush Mirage when she detected the Winx. He didn't know what she had seen, but she had seen something. Maybe it would be prudent to wait for the right moment to take the map.

…

The group of six entered the ruined base. There was no door, the walls were extremely cracked, there was many objects scattered throughout the floor, and everything was covered with dust. Logical, since the place had remained abandoned for nearly two decades.

"Timmy, we're in," said Musa through her badge.

"Got you," said Timmy from the other side of the line. "Musa, you should check the area. Remember that somebody's probably waiting for you."

"Alright," said Musa. She closed her eyes and pricked up her ears. The whole place was completely silent. She didn't even hear the buzz of a fly. "Sorry, I couldn't hear anything."

"Guess that we have to stay alert..." said Layla.

"I was thinking that we could split in groups to cover more area," Riven suggested.

"It's a good idea," said Helia.

"I prefer to stick together," objected Flora. "Remember that there's somebody here. What if we're ambushed?"

"You both are right," said Timmy. "So this is what we're doing: split in two groups of three, that would be enough."

"Okay."

"However, for further safety, all of you will always stay in the same floor. Whenever you end searching through one floor, you will reunite, go to the next floor together, and split in two groups again."

"Sounds like a good strategy to me. What do you say, Flora?" asked Helia.

"Seems to be the best option," admitted Flora.

"Excellent. Riven, Musa and Layla will inspect the west wing. Flora, Helia and Nabu will inspect the east wing. There are two staircases in front of you. They should take you to each of the wings."

"Okay, let's go then," said Riven.

"And again, be careful and be alert. There's somebody there, and I doubt that it is a friend."

…

Flora, Helia and Nabu started to inspect the east wing of the first floor, which seemed to be an armory. However, all the weapons and armor lying there were extremely rusty and full of dust. They tried not to make too much noise, or they would reveal their position to the enemy. In fact, to think that somebody was spying them got on their nerves.

Helia noticed that Flora was breathing heavily. He immediately stopped what he was doing and went to check on her.

"Hey, Flora, are you okay?" asked Helia.

"Yes," replied the nature fairy. Helia raised an eyebrow.

"You don't look so."

"Well, it's...this place. There aren't plants or animals. It's like the whole planet is dead. And...I can feel a dark aura surrounding this place."

"I can feel it, too," said Nabu. Helia and Flora looked at him. "Sorry, I couldn't help but hear what you were saying. I think that the aura you feel is the Ancient Witches' energy."

"They were here, but that was years ago! How has their energy persisted so long?" asked Flora.

"Who knows?" said Helia. "If you feel tired and want to go back to the ship..."

"No, I'm fine!" said Flora quickly. If there was anything that Flora hated, it was not being useful. "I can continue...I only need to rest a bit..."

"Do you want some water?" asked Helia, handing her his water bottle.

"Yes, please" said Flora with a gentle smile.

On the other side of the building, Riven, Musa and Layla were inspecting as well. Their side seemed to be a storage room, since there were many crates.

"Please, don't tell me that we have to open all these boxes one by one," said Riven, a bit annoyed.

"What else can we do?" replied Musa, who opened a box near her.

"Well, you girls could use your magic to blow all the crates up," suggested Riven.

"There are two problems with that, Riven," interjected Layla. "First, we could damage the item we're looking for."

"We don't even know what we're looking for..." said Riven bitterly. Layla frowned.

"And second, that would make a lot of noise, thus giving the enemy your position. I thought that you Red Fountain boys knew that."

"Oh, it's not his fault," said Musa. "Riven does, and always will, act first and think later."

"You know me so well," smirked Riven.

It took some time, but they finally opened all the crates, and found nothing. There were some books, documents, weapons and rotten food, but nothing interesting. Musa pulled out her badge.

"Musa here, do you copy Timmy?" asked Musa.

"Copy that," replied Timmy. "What's your situation?"

"Found nothing, shall we move to the next floor?"

"Sure. The others already finished the inspection as well. Reunite with them and go to the next floor."

…

For some reason, everybody felt relieved when the two teams reunited again. There was something in the air that was getting them nervous, plus the fact that somebody could be spying on them didn't help.

When they reached the second floor, and were ready to split again, they felt a tremor. Suddenly, the roof collapsed over them. Fortunately, they were quick enough to run forward, avoiding being buried by a pile of rocks.

"My god, this place is a giant trap!" said Riven.

"No, that didn't fall naturally, I felt an energy flow pulling it," said Nabu.

"I felt it too," said Layla.

Nabu's badge began to beep. Timmy was calling.

"I saw part of the building crumbling over you," said Timmy. He was a bit nervous. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, all of us are fine...I think so," said Nabu.

"Why did the roof just collapse? It seemed pretty solid to me."

"Guess that our little friend finally made his first move."

"_Her_ first move," said a new voice. The six members of the group turned to the origin of said voice: it was a girl, probably the same age as they were, with pale skin and shoulder-length black hair, wearing a dark blue strap shirt adorned with yellow runes, trousers of the same color, black boots, and black fingerless gloves that went halfway up her arms. She also wore some jewels and talismans. All of them noticed that in her right hand she was holding what seemed like a shiny blue cube. "I was wondering when you would come here."

"Did you do this?" asked Musa, motioning to the debris that was once the ceiling.

"Yes, but it was only a test," said the girl. "You know, to see if a fight with you was worth it. And congratulations, you passed."

"Who the hell are you?" asked Layla, irritated by the girl's attitude.

"You don't need to know that, Layla." said the girl.

Layla opened her eyes wide. "How do you know my name?"

"Again, that's something you don't need to know," said Mirage. "Just be sure to put up a good fight. I've been bored as hell."

Riven took a step forward.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, and I don't care either, but if you know what's convenient for you, you'll surrender and come with us quietly, understand?" threatened Riven.

"You'll need more than simple bravado to scare me, Riven," said Mirage. She then looked at Musa, who was about to say something. "Yes, Musa, I know, he's a big mouth."

"I had enough of this!" said Layla. "Enchantix!"

Layla, Musa and Flora transformed into her fairy forms. The specialists were also ready for fight.

"Finally!" said Mirage in delight.

Layla opened the fight, casting her signature Morphix balls at the black-haired witch. Mirage, however, just waved her hand, stopping the attack in mid-air. Musa was the next one to attack, but before she could cast her sound waves, Mirage waved her hand at Musa, and the Morphix balls went to her. Musa released her attack to clash with Layla's Morphix, creating a huge explosion.

Riven took advantage of the ensuring chaos, activating his two fuchsia phantoblades, and charged at Mirage. Although the witch lacked weapons, she did not avoid hand to hand combat, but was limited to avoiding Riven's swings. Meanwhile, Flora got ready to summon her plants.

"Green Luxurious Ivy!" yelled Flora.

Mirage then waved her hand at Riven, and the specialist felt himself being pushed by an extremely powerful unseen force. He crashed against Flora, interrupting her spell. Helia immediately went to see if Flora was okay.

"Flora! Are you okay?" asked Helia.

"Yes..." mumbled Flora, aching a bit. "She tossed Riven and me just when I was about to release my spell...it's like she foresaw it..."

Back to the fight, Musa and Layla attacked again with sonic waves and Morphix bolts respectively, this time together, but Mirage was prepared. She opened her arms wide, and the two attacks avoided her. The two fairies expected the attacks to go back at them, but instead Mirage made them crash some meters behind her. A very injured Nabu stepped from the cloud of smoke.

"Oh, no! Nabu!" said Layla worried, before flying at him to check of he was okay.

"Come on, don't tell me that you're tired already!" said Mirage mockingly. "I expected something better from the legendary Winx Club!"

However, Mirage's gloating was interrupted by Helia, who used his string glove to snatch the cube from her hand.

"I think that I'll be taking this, thanks," said Helia.

"What the hell...? Give me that back!" said Mirage, angered.

"Well, it's obvious that this is what they were looking for," said Riven.

"Give me that back before I get angry!" menaced Mirage.

"Who's the braggart now?" mocked Riven. Mirage grumbled at him.

"I'm going shut your big mouth up RIGHT NOW!"

Mirage motioned her arms, used her powers to levitate several rocks from the pile of debris, and threw them at Riven and Helia. The two specialists dropped down on the floor, avoiding the attack. Flora was ready to cast a shield on them, but the rocks then flew at Mirage, or better said, behind Mirage, just to block an incoming attack from Layla and Nabu.

Musa rejoined the fight, and prepared another attack. However, Mirage pointed at her, and Musa gasped. She suddenly turned at Helia, and blasted him with a sound wave. Helia inevitably dropped the small cube. Riven tried to pick it, but it quickly flew by itself at Mirage's hand.

"Helia!" said Flora, horrified.

"Musa, what the hell are you doing!" Riven called out.

"Sorry! I don't know what happened! I just lost the control of my body!" said the fairy of music.

"I think that I get it: she's a psychic, and can read our minds! That's why she can predict and evade our attacks!" said Nabu.

"Let's attack at once!" suggested Layla. "She can't be focused on all of us at once."

"Yes, that's why she wasn't able to see Helia's move," said Musa.

The three boys and girls surrounded Mirage, ready to attack at once.

"You're wasting your time, you can't beat me, no matter what you do!" said Mirage.

"We'll see!" said Layla, casting a Morphix ball at her. Mirage dodged it, and it seemed that Riven was going to take the attack; however, he then used his phantoblade to hit the ball like a baseball club, going back to Mirage again. The witch had to use her telekinesis to stop the attack, but was unable to stop Helia's string and Flora's plants from immobilizing her.

"Now!" said Riven.

"Bass Resonance!" yelled Musa, releasing powerful wave sounds.

"Azure Beam!" shouted Nabu casting a beam of energy.

The two attacks hit the helpless psychic, sending her away. Although very injured, she was still able to stand on her feet.

"Did you have enough? Because there's more where it came from," bragged Musa.

Mirage snorted pure rage. She couldn't allow those guys to make fun of her. The witch then pulled from her pocket the amulet Gaul gave her. She thought that she wouldn't need it. Well, at least, it would even the fight. She then raised the amulet and said:

"Obsidian Slayers, come to my help!"

A black hole opened above her head, and two black knights fell from it, making a loud thud when they reached the floor. One of them was wielding a big, almost giant butcher's knife; the other one had a morning star.

"Oh, no, not again those things!" said Flora, who still remembered her two encounters against them in Cloud Tower.

"Did you know them?" asked Nabu.

"Yes, and we have to be careful," said Musa. "Those knights might look human, but they're just golems created to kill fairies!"

"You forgot to mention that they're immune to magic," said Layla.

"Now, Obsidian Slayers, CRUSH THEM!"

The Obsidian Slasher (the knight with the sword) charged at Riven and the Obsidian Smasher (the knight with the morning star) targeted Flora as his first victim.

"Seems that he remembers me," said Flora. "But this time we're not in Cloud Tower!"

Flora then sprayed the ground around her with shiny pollen. The second the Smasher stepped in, plants grew from the pollen, wrapping around the knight tightly, who began to fidget.

"Good job, Flora!" said Musa.

"We need to think of something more drastic, those vines won't hold him forever!" said Flora, watching how the knight slowly broke from his vegetable prison.

"Guess that I'll have to deal with him," said Helia, activating his orange rapier-like phantoblade. "The rest of you go for the summoner."

Meanwhile, Riven was fighting the Slasher in a fencing duel. Riven was much faster, but his opponent's strength outmatched his.

"Some help here? This guy isn't exactly weak!" said Riven while parrying a powerful blow.

"Sorry, but you're alone," said Musa, feeling sorry for leaving Riven alone against such a monster. "There's nothing we can do to help."

"Okay!" said Riven. "But try to take that smug psychic down fast, okay?"

Flora, Layla, Musa and Nabu got ready to face Mirage.

"So, do you think you can beat me before my minions slay your friends?" asked Mirage. "Think again!"

Using her massive powers, the psychic witch ripped up the floor's tiles and threw them. Layla and Flora instinctively raised a shield to protect the group. Nabu stepped out of the shield and began to shoot energy balls at the black haired girl. However, Mirage dodged his attacks easily, since she knew beforehand what he was going to do. When she got tired of dodging, she pushed Nabu back at the girls.

"Damn, we need a strategy!" said Layla. "We can't keep attacking any which way!"

"Let's surround her and attack her at once," suggested Flora. "That worked before."

The other three nodded in response, and started to surround Mirage.

"Like hell I'm going to let you to pull the same trick on me twice!" said Mirage, snapping her fingers.

The Obsidian Slayers, who were fighting the two specialists, suddenly ignored them, turned back and charged at the fairies and Nabu. They were forced to disperse while fleeing from the iron titans.

"Oh, no, you won't!" said Helia, wrapping his glove string around the Smasher's arm. The blue haired specialist could feel how insanely strong his foe was, since it took a lot of effort to hold him.

"Face it, losers," Mirage began. "Maybe you had a chance against me before, since I must admit that you guys are strong and I was outnumbered, but with the Obsidian Slayers, you have nothing to do!"

Mirage then felt something. A new presence appeared behind her. She suddenly turned around to see a man under a brown hooded cloak. The witch was shocked. Why didn't she feel his presence?

The stranger, taking advantage of Mirage's shock, made her fall with a low kick. Mirage dropped the cube, but the stranger caught it before it landed.

"My job here is done," was the only thing he said before fleeing.

The hooded man rushed past the Winx girls, the specialists and the Obsidian knights. However, Riven was able to block his way.

"Not so fast, bucko!" said Riven, waving his sword in front of him.

The stranger pulled out a yellow phantoblade that was buckled to his belt, and fought Riven. The specialist attacked with fast swings, but the stranger only defended himself and made no attempts in attacking. He jumped backwards, putting some distance between himself and Riven, and withdrew his sword.

"You're a good swordsman. I'd love to stay and play with you, but duty calls," said the hooded man, who went past Riven with a feint.

"Hey, come back, you coward!"

Ignoring Riven's taunts, the stranger, reached the second floor in two impressive leaps through the huge hole Mirage had made in her attempt to bury her enemies alive. Suddenly, they remembered that Timmy said there were _two_ ships.

"Damn, he's escaping with the cube!" said Helia, who was starting to lose grip on the Smasher.

"Somebody get him!"

"I'll go!" said Layla, flying through the hole to the second floor.

"You!" said Mirage, pointing at the Slasher. "Get me back that cube! Kill whoever stands in your way!"

The black knight roared in response, and ran out of the room. He couldn't use the hole in the roof, so he had to take the longer way up the stairs.

…

Layla didn't take too long to see the thief. He was running through a wide hallway. The base probably had a back door, which the hooded man had probably used to enter, and would probably use to escape. – not that Layla wasn't going to do anything about it. Flying, the dark-skinned fairy could catch him in no time, but instead decided to end the chase in that moment.

Layla summoned a ball of Morphix in her hand, and tossed it at the man. It didn't hit him, but went past him and extended, forming a wall of Morphix. The man crashed against the wall, pushing him back like a spring.

"Game over. Now give me that cube," said Layla. The man turned to her.

"Undo this wall now, fairy, or else..." said the man. His voice was young but deep. He probably wasn't older than 20.

"Or else what, big boy?" said a defiant Layla, placing her hands on her hips.

The man removed his hood, and tossed his cloak away: Layla's opponent was, like she guessed, a young boy, probably the same age as her. He was tall and well built, had short black hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing plate shoulder pads, plate boots, metallic gauntlets, a leather belt, and chainmail. The chainmail was adorned with a golden ankh, probably the emblem of his home world. He looked like a medieval knight.

Layla guessed that her foe was a paladin. The boy then activated his yellow phantoblade.

"Or else, I'll make you regret it!" menaced the paladin

...

**Author's note: **Yes, I know that Mirta did not appear despite being marked as the protagonist. Well, although she is -and will be- important, this story is more about everyone. Variety is the spice of life, after all ;) . As you could see, two old friends make a big return in this chapter, and a new foe appeared. What will happen?

Again, thanks a lot to Still for betareading this story and to all the people who review.


	5. Trust

**Chapter 5: Trust**

"Last chance, fairy," said the paladin, coming close to her. "I don't want to harm you."

"And why do you think that you can harm me?" replied Aisha. The paladin smirked smugly.

"Alright, I gave you a chance to leave," said the boy, before putting the cube in a bag attached to his belt. "Now, prepare to fight!"

The paladin adopted a fighting stance, holding his blade over his head.

Aisha elevated in mid-air, summoned a Morphix ball in each hand, and cast it at her foe. The paladin used his sword to deflect the attacks. The paladin then rushed at Aisha and tried to slash at her, with no success, since the fairy was much faster than him. Aisha counterattacked with more Morphix balls, but they were avoided.

"Hope you have better to offer," said the paladin.

"How about this?" Aisha then waved her hands, and another Morphix ball appeared between them. However, the Morphix ball took the shape of a sword. Bemused at first, the paladin the sported a snarky smile. It seemed that Aisha's idea amused him.

Fairy and paladin engaged in a fencing duel. Although the paladin was much better than Aisha, he had to admit that Aisha was a better fencer than he expected from a fairy. The paladin was able to corner Aisha against a wall. The princess of Andros was able to parry the final swing, and push the paladin back, putting some distance between them again. However, the paladin didn't give up, and attacked again, but this time with his fist instead of sword.

"Fist of Justice!" yelled the paladin, while his fist glowed with a golden shine.

Aisha dodged the attack, and the paladin hit the wall instead. He made a hole in the wall.

"_My, this guy is strong_" Aisha thought. "_I had better stop fooling around_" and she undid the sword of Morphix.

"Okay, time to get serious!" said Aisha, rising again in mid air, and summoned several Morphix balls. The balls then started to orbit around Aisha, each time faster. Aisha moved her arms forward, and the dancing balls flew at the paladin. "Plasma Twister!"

The paladin tried to avoid the attack the same way he did before, but it was useless. The balls hurled him backwards upon impact.

"_She's good,_" thought the paladin. "_She analyzed my fighting style and used an attack I couldn't avoid. Well, I have something _she_won't_ _be able to avoid_."

Without hesitation, the paladin stood up and raised his sword, which began to glow from the handle to its point. He then made a slashing motion.

"Echo Slash!" shouted the paladin, and a crescent-shaped energy blast sprang forward from its sword. The fairy rose in mid-air to avoid the attack, although it almost hit her. Aisha then saw the blast slicing a nearby statue in two. "Next time, I won't fail."

However, the paladin wasn't able to cast another attack, since it was interrupted by one of the Obsidian Slayers, the one with the sword, who made a rather theatrical entry by tearing down a wall, letting out a terrifying roar in the process. The black knight then attacked the paladin with all its strength. The paladin, like Riven before him, could feel the monstrous strength the knight had, since he felt that his arms would break whenever he parried one of its lethal blows.

Meanwhile, Aisha watched the fight, undecided about what to do. She didn't know if she should intervene, since they were both her enemies. Maybe she could take advantage of the situation, take the cube from the paladin and get the hell out of there with her friends.

Aisha the saw that the paladin had somehow managed to knock the sword out of the knight's metallic hands. However, it also made him over-confident and he lowered his guard. The knight made him pay for such a mistake, and kicked him so hard that it hurled him against another wall. However, the knight hadn't finish with him: the iron giant approached the very injured paladin, grabbed him by the neck, raised him above its head, and tossed him against another wall. The paladin broke the wall with his body. Aisha could even feel the paladin's pain.

The paladin tried to drag himself away, but he was too injured. The knight walked at him, ready to end his life and take the cube. The fairy of water finally decided to intervene, and attacked the knight with her Morphix balls, trying to catch its attention.

"Hey! Over here!" shouted Aisha. However, her attacks barely made any scratch on the knight's magic-proof armor. However, Aisha wasn't going to give up so easily. Remembering the battle in Cloud Tower, she cast another spell: "Morphix Chains!"

Like the name implies, chains made of Morphix wrapped around the knight's knees and arms, rendering him immobile. While the knight struggled, Aisha went to check the paladin.

"You okay?" asked Aisha, helping him to stand up.

"I think so," said the paladin, grabbing his aching body. "Why are you helping me?"

Aisha just shrugged. "I felt that I had to do it."

"Thanks, then. But this changes nothing. I'm not going to give you the cube," said the paladin.

"We'll talk about that later," said Aisha with a smirk.

Meanwhile, the knight had already broken free of Aisha's chains, picked up its sword and charged at them.

"Watch out!" shouted the paladin, pushing Aisha away. He was also able to dodge the knight's blow.

The blow, however, was so powerful that it made the floor crumble – little by little at first, but then faster until it collapsed completely. The black knight and the paladin fell to the lower floor, but Aisha simply flew to avoid the fall. Aisha saw her friends fighting against Mirage and the remaining black knight.

Aisha was about to rejoin the fight, but suddenly the whole building began to crumble. Rocks began to fall everywhere. One of them crushed the knight with the morning star. Mirage, without saying anything, ran away before suffering the same fate as her minions.

"This place is going down! Let's get the hell out of here!" said Riven.

"Wait! What about the cube?" asked Nabu.

Aisha then flew toward the unconscious paladin, and plucked the cube from him. "Got it!" said the fairy, raising the cube like a trophy.

"Okay, now let's go!" urged Riven.

"Hey, what about him?" asked Flora, pointing at the unconscious paladin. "We aren't going to leave him here, are we?"

"I think that we should take him with us," said Aisha. "He helped me against the black knight. And I think that he knows what's this cube is, among other things."

Riven sighed in annoyance, picked up the paladin and carried him on his back. Losing no time, they made their way out of the collapsing building. Helia pulled out his badge.

"Timmy, this is Helia, do you copy?" said Helia.

"What's going on? That place is going down!" said Timmy from the other side, concerned.

"We will explain later, now we need you to pick us up!" said Helia.

"Don't worry, I'm right above you," said Timmy.

It seemed that they weren't going to make it, but they suddenly were blinded by a flash of white light. When the light vanished, they saw that they were again in the _Prometheus._

…

After being rescued by Timmy, everybody wanted to have some rest more than anything. They took the paladin to the ship's infirmary, and checked his injuries. He had a concussion, which had probably occurred when he fell through the second floor. Flora bandaged it.

While the others rested, Timmy, in the ship's bridge, decided to share the good news with his girlfriend, and called Tecna. After some seconds, Tecna's face appeared on one of the screens.

"Timmy! What a nice surprise!" said the fairy of technology, showing a bright smile. She was wearing pajamas.

"Hi, Tec," said Timmy. "Hope I didn't call at a bad time."

"We were about to go to bed, but it's okay. I like talking with you no matter the hour. Anyway, how are things going?"

"Couldn't be better," said Timmy, smiling as well. "Complete success. We found what we were looking for. We're traveling back to Magix. According to my calculations, we'll arrive at noon."

"I knew that you would succeed. I'll tell the other girls, too," said Tecna.

The specialist noticed that the place didn't look like Tecna's room at Alfea, or any other place of the fairy school for that matter.

"Tecna, where are you now? That doesn't look to be Alfea."

"Negative. We're in Cloud Tower."

"Cloud Tower?" asked Timmy, a bit confused. "And may I ask what you are doing there?"

"We got a call from Lucy saying that it was under attack, and effectively it was true," said Tecna. "However, alongside Cloud Tower's witches, we were able to repel the attackers."

"Are you okay?" asked Timmy.

"Yes, but Bloom was gravely injured during the fight. Fortunately, she's out of danger now."

Timmy was silent.

Tecna continued: "That's why we decided to stay here until Bloom gets better. One of Cloud Tower's nurses checked Bloom, and she said that tomorrow she'll be fine, after some hours of sleep."

"Do you think that the guys who attacked Cloud Tower were the same ones who sent that Void Lord at the beginning of the summer?" asked Timmy.

"It's the most logical conclusion," replied Tecna.

"Besides, the others told me that they had to fight a pair of black knights that were extremely resistant to magic," said Timmy. Tecna clapped both hands over her mouth upon hearing the description.

"The Obsidian Slayers!" said Tecna.

"If I remember correctly, you had to fight against them in your last trip to Cloud Tower, am I right?"

"Yes," sighed Tecna. "And believe me, it was one of the most difficult fights of our entire lives. I always hoped that I wouldn't have to fight against such foes again." Tecna paused, realizing what kind of enemies Timmy's team had to deal with. "Wait, what about you? Are any of you wounded?"

"Strange as it may seem, no. All of us are fine," said Timmy. Tecna sighed in relief.

"Good to hear that. If I knew that you were going to face those demons again, I would have gone with you as well."

Helia then entered the bridge, and walked toward Timmy.

"Timmy, our guest is awake," said Helia.

"Guest?" asked Tecna, a bit confused.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when we're in Magix. Now I have to leave," said Timmy. "Oh, and tell Bloom that I wish her to get better."

"Don't worry, I will. See you soon."

…

Five minutes later, everybody was gathered in the infirmary when the paladin was slowly waking up. He opened his eyes, and saw seven people staring at him.

"Ugh...where am I?...and who are you?" asked the paladin.

"Hey, it's US who ask the questions here, not you!" said Riven.

"Riven, don't be so rude!" chastised Musa. "My name is Musa. These are Flora, Aisha, Helia, Nabu, Timmy and Riven. What's your name?"

"Marco," said the paladin. "Where am I?"

"You're in a safe place, that's all what you need to know," said Flora gently. "Relax, you're not our prisoner."

"Why does my head hurt so much?" groaned Marco.

"You had a really ugly bump there," said Helia. "Fortunately, Flora is a good nurse." Flora giggled at her boyfriend's comment.

"I also took off your armor," said Flora. "You can take it later, as well as your other personal effects, once we're back in Magix."

"Oh, I also picked your ship. It's in the hangar now."

Marco was amazed by the group. They were so well-organized and coordinated. He guessed that they were probably longtime friends as well.

"Well, now that the introductions are over, let's talk about what matters," said Riven, carefully chilling down his mood. He showed the cube to the paladin. "Now tell us what this is."

The paladin frowned. "Don't tell me you don't know what that is."

"Well, we wouldn't be asking if we already knew, don't you think so?" asked Musa sarcastically.

"Then why were you there? You were looking for something and you have no clue about it?" asked Marco.

"Not exactly," said Nabu. "We've been following a group of criminals that have been attacking several kingdoms, looking for something."

"I bet that that girl was one of them," said Aisha.

"We had a clue leading to this place, and that they were looking for a certain item," Nabu continued. "As you may guess, we weren't going to let that to happen."

"But on the other hand, you do know what this is, so spill it."

"It's a map" was Marco's answer.

"A map? A map of what?" asked Riven, crossing his arms. He, like everybody else, wasn't too pleased with the answer.

"A map that points the location of certain place that must remain hidden," said the paladin.

"Couldn't you be a bit more specific?" asked Musa.

"Sorry, I won't say anymore. At least not until know more things about you, and most importantly, your interests. You're fairies, and fairies are forces of good, but I can't risk. I simply can't trust you now. As for now, be sure that the cube is safe."

"Don't worry, it is," assured Timmy. "Now I recommend that you rest. Once we're in Magix, you'll undergo a much more intense interrogation."

"Do what you have to do," replied Marco. "Because that's what I'm doing."

"Come on guys, let's go," said Riven, walking out of the infirmary, followed by the rest. Aisha and Nabu remained there to watch their guest.

…

The next morning, in Cloud Tower, Griffin was talking with some of the school's staff.

"So, how's the situation?" asked Griffin.

"All the damage has been fixed," said Zarathustra. "Also, it seems that they didn't steal anything."

"What about the witches?"

"They're recovering," said a woman that looked to be a nurse. "Their powers were violently stripped off, and that hurt them a lot, but, like that fairy said, they will regain their powers over time. Their health will improve as well."

"Well, I'm glad that everything looks good," said Griffin, relieved. "Considering the enemy we had to face, the collateral damage could have been much worse."

"Ms. Griffin, there's less than a week until the classes start. Do you still want to...?" was going to ask Eltrudite.

"If you're asking if we are going to put off or cancel the classes, the answer is no," said Griffin. "I have a duty to fulfill as the head of this school."

"Alright, Ms Griffin. Anything else?"

"No. You're dismissed."

…

Tecna and Stella didn't sleep too well that night. Whenever they fell asleep, that red knight appeared in the dreams that turned into nightmares, in which he took their powers. Stella and Tecna, like practically every other fairy, relied on magic for combat, among other things, but some months ago they had to face foes immune to magic – and now this. Each enemy they fought was more powerful than the previous one: Darkar was much stronger than the Trix, but the new powers they developed in the fight against the Shadow Phoenix turned useless against Valtor, thus they were forced to achieve new powers to deal with these enemies.

However, the situation took a different angle: now their enemies were developing ways to resist or nullify their powers. They didn't face the man in black yet, but according to Lucy, he was able to shake off spells like they were water. How could they deal with these menaces? Faragonda said that the Enchantix was the final and most powerful transformation a fairy could achieve. But what happened if the Enchantix wasn't enough? If a transformation stronger than the Enchantix did not exist, maybe they should invent it.

Bloom, on the other hand, was sleeping like she'd been awake a whole week.

The two fairies woke up early, and talked about their distressful dreams, and let their redheaded friend to sleep a bit more.

…

"Judging by your face, I guess that you weren't successful," said Gaul. "Am I right?"

"Yes," muttered Mirage, angered. "Like always."

"Hope that, for the next time, you learn not to underestimate your enemies," said Gaul. "Guess that we have to start all over again..."

"Master, I failed in my task," Mirage began. "But maybe not everything is lost."

Gaul suddenly turned at her.

"What do you mean? Speak!"

"Well, during my fight with the Winx Club, I..."

…

Bloom opened her eyes, and found herself in a dark bedroom. She first wondered where she was, and then remembered that she was in Cloud Tower.

"Finally!" Bloom heard Stella's usual cheerful voice near her. "I thought that you were going to sleep the whole day."

Bloom blinked several times and rubbed her eyes until she was able to see with brightness, and saw Stella sitting by her bed, looking at her with her trademark smile, and Tecna, leaning against a wall, smiling at her, too.

"What time is it?" asked Bloom.

"Exactly 11:17 in the morning," said Tecna.

Wow. Bloom had been sleeping almost sixteen hours.

"So, how do you feel?" asked Stella.

Bloom opened her hand, and summoned a ball of fire, that burned with such intensity that Stella had to back off a bit.

"Looks good to me."

"Okay, now get dressed. We have to go back to Alfea to meet Timmy and the others. They will be there in less than 40 minutes."

"Wait a bit!" said Stella. "There's somebody who came here to see you when he learned what happened here."

Much to Bloom's surprise, Sky, followed by Brandon, entered the room.

"Sky!" said Bloom, visibly happy.

Sky came close to her and hugged her. "Hello, Bloom. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Still a bit dazed, but good," replied Bloom. "So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Stella called me," answered Brandon, stepping forward. "And, well, Sky insisted on coming here to check on you."

"Well, can you guys go outside and wait for Bloom to get changed?" asked Tecna. "Remember that we have to be at Alfea soon."

"Hey, relax, Tec, it's not like Timmy and the others are going to turn back if they don't see us there," said Stella.

"Yes, but when you agree to meet with somebody at certain place at certain hour, it's polite to be at that place at that hour. As a princess, I thought that you knew that," replied Tecna.

Unable to come up with a good answer, Stella simply stuck her tongue out at Tecna in a very childish manner.

"No, Tecna's right," said Sky. "Come on, Brandon."

The two specialists left the room. Sky leaned against the door, and sighed heavily.

"Is there something wrong with you, bro?" asked Brandon. "You look worried."

"It's Bloom," said Sky.

"Oh, stop worrying. You saw her. She's fine," replied Brandon.

"It's not that," said Sky. "It's that...Bloom could have been killed, and I wasn't there to protect her."

Brandon frowned.

"Two problems with that, bro: first, you didn't know that this was going to happen, and two, Bloom is able to defend herself. You should trust her a bit more."

"This time was different, you heard Tecna, too," said Sky. "Now, how would you have reacted if Stella was injured instead of Bloom?"

Brandon took too much time to answer.

"That's what I thought," said Sky bitterly.

"Listen, I know how you feel," Brandon began. "But you must accept that there are things that escape our control. Don't beat yourself for that."

"So, what I should do, _bro_?" asked Sky.

"If something bad happened to Stella, I wouldn't mourn nor beat myself for it, but try my best to help her," said Brandon. "Bloom's okay. You should be happy for that."

Sky's face seemed to soften. "Guess you're right."


	6. A History Lesson

**Chapter 6: A History Lesson**

The _Prometheus_ landed near Alfea at the hour Timmy specified in his last transmission. The rest of the Winx Club was there to greet the group and congratulate them their success. Also, many other Alfean fairies came close to the landing place, driven by curiosity, to take a look at the magnificent ship. Some of them began to whisper to each other about the ship belonging to the famous Winx Club, and that they were back from a very dangerous mission. Well, it was true.

Some seconds after the ship landed, its entrance opened, and three girls and five guys came from it. Yes, five guys. All of the watchers noticed that there was a new guy in the group. And that guy was actually handcuffed.

Tecna then remembered Helia and Timmy talking about a 'guest'.

…

"Tell me, boy, what's your name?" asked Alfea's headmistress.

The group told Faragonda about their mission, not skipping the tiniest detail. Of course, the run-in they had with the witch and the paladin was one of the major points, plus the fact that they had managed to capture the latter; although, capture may not have been the most appropriated word. Needless to say, Faragonda was interested in interrogating the young paladin herself. Now she was in her office, with the paladin, no longer handcuffed, sitting in front of her with the constituents of the mission watching.

"My name is Marco," said the paladin.

Faragonda smiled, much to the paladin's bemusement.

"May I ask what you find so funny?" asked Marco, a bit annoyed.

"You know, you couldn't even walk the last time I saw you," said Faragonda. "You probably won't remember me, but my name's Faragonda."

Faragonda. That name sounded familiar. Wait...did she say that she knew him?

"And tell me, Marco," the headmistress continued. "What were you doing there?"

"As your subordinates probably told you, I was there to retrieve a very important item that belonged to the Company of the Light. But, as you can see, I failed."

Faragonda let out a small laugh. "Those aren't my subordinates."

"No?"

"No. They were my students. In fact, I don't know if you know, but you're in Alfea, school for fairies."

That information seemed uninteresting for the paladin.

"So, would you like to call your mother? I'm sure that she'll be a bit worried," said Faragonda. The offering took Marco by surprise, and not only because the elder lady apparently knew about his mother.

"No catch?"

"My God, you are really distrustful!" said Faragonda. "Thank goodness that I already know her number..."

…

A white haired woman was peacefully reading a book in what looked to be a small office. Somebody knocked the door. The woman closed the book and told the visitor to enter. It was a young girl wearing a white robe, strapped sandals, partial armor, a spear and a shield: one of the place's guards.

"Milady, there's a holographic call incoming," said the soldier. "The caller requests to talk with you."

"Where does the call come from?" asked the woman.

"Magix, Milady."

"I see...the line's safe?"

"Not only that, Milady," said the soldier. "The caller is using one of the lines used during the war with the Ancient Witches."

The woman suddenly started. Very few people knew about those lines, and most of them were already dead. That meant that it only could be...

Losing no time, the woman, followed by the soldier, headed to another room: a bigger one, with a huge table with several maps scattered over them. It was a war room.

"Enable the transmission," ordered the white haired woman.

A projection of Faragonda appeared in front of her. The woman was speechless.

"Hello, Arthaia," greeted Faragonda. "It's been long since the last time we talked."

"Lady Faragonda!"

Almost instinctively, Arthaia immediately bowed before Alfea's headmistress.

"Stand up, Arthaia," said Faragonda. "We're no longer in the Company."

A bit unsure, the woman stood up.

"Much better," said Faragonda with a smile.

"I never thought that we would talk again after dissolving the Company," said Arthaia. "Even if my heart dwells in joy to see you again, may I ask the reason behind your call?"

"Oh, it's that there's someone here who wants to say hello," said Faragonda. A holograph of Marco appeared besides her.

"Hello, mother," said Marco.

"Marco!" said Arthaia, relieved to hear of her son. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, mother. Don't worry for me," replied the paladin.

"How did your mission go?" asked Arthaia. "Did you get the map?"

"No...well, not exactly. Other people got it before me. Then they took me here," said the boy.

"I'm glad to see that you're fine, and that the map is safe," said Arthaia. "Now, Marco, listen to me: that woman, Faragonda, was a top rank member of the Company of the Light, besides being my master and mentor."

Marco gasped when he heard that. Then he was invaded by relief when he realized that those guys he fought on Danpal were in the same side as him.

"Now, Arthaia, I'd like to have your son over here for some time, if it's okay with you," said Faragonda. "We'd like to know what he- and therefore you- know."

"Of course," replied Arthaia. "Anything else?"

"No, that would be all. It was a pleasure to see you again, Arthaia."

"Likewise, Faragonda," the woman then turned to her son. "Take care, Marco. Remember that our mission has just begun."

"Don't worry, mother, I will. I won't disappoint you."

Faragonda and Marco's holographs disappeared.

…

Faragonda resumed the interrogation; however, now Marco was much more willing to collaborate. In less than ten minutes, he said all that he knew about the mission. The headmistress knew that it was time to take the next step.

"Guys, call for Bloom and the others, and tell them to come here. There's something about the item you retrieved that all of you must know," said Faragonda.

Moments later, the Winx Club, plus the Red Fountain boys and Mirta, were gathered in Faragonda's office.

"As you probably know, the item you found in Danpal is a map," said Faragonda.

"A map of what?" asked Riven, impatient to finally know the purpose of his mission.

"A map of a place named the Forge of Wonders," revealed Faragonda.

"And...what's that place supposed to be?" asked Flora.

"It's long to explain," said Faragonda. "Since there's a lot of history behind it. I'll start from the beginning...many thousands of years ago-"

"Wow, when you said 'start from the beginning', I didn't expect it to be literal," interrupted Stella, earning a disapproving stare from the headmistress. "Sorry, continue."

"As I was saying, many thousands of years ago, when the first inhabitants of the universe had just discovered magic, one of the first uses they thought of was to enchant items. However, you are aware of their many limitations."

Magic Items was actually an optional subject that Musa and Flora had taken in their senior year, so they, at least, were indeed aware. However, Faragonda decided to elaborate for those who weren't familiar with it.

"To enchant items has been, from the beginning of the times, a very difficult task. To infuse small items such as amulets or pendants with magic is easy, but it gets harder the bigger the item is. That's why you'll rarely see a magic sword," explained Faragonda.

"Besides, the magic energy vanishes over time, doesn't it?" asked Musa.

"Yes, since magic comes from life," confirmed Flora. Faragonda nodded.

"That's true. In fact, artisans still try to craft bigger magic items with no success so far."

"I bet that now comes the 'however'" Stella whispered to Bloom.

"However," Ms. Faragonda continued.

Stella grinned.

"A long time ago, there was a man who succeeded at this. His true name was unknown, but he's remembered as The Master Craftsman," she then looked at Tecna. "I'm sure that you've heard about him."

"Of course! The Master Craftsman was the founder of Zenith," said Tecna proudly. It was one of the rare occasions in which she talked about her home world.

"Wait, what does this guy have to do with that Forge of Wonders?" asked Sky.

"It isn't obvious? The Master Craftsman evidently created the Forge as well," said Timmy.

"Correct," said Faragonda. "The Forge was the place in which he and his few apprentices forged powerful magical items, and it also had the ability to travel through space, like a spaceship. As you can guess, many kings and warlords were interested in his work, and thus, he was able to amass a huge fortune. Using said fortune, he built a city around the Forge. Said city is actually the capital of Zenith."

"Wait a minute," said Tecna. "I've been in the capital of Zenith hundreds of times, and I've never seen such a place there."

"That's because it was moved," said Faragonda. "Not all of the people interested in the Forge, were willing to pay the excessive amount of money the Craftsman demanded, and tried to take his creations by force. When a place became dangerous, they moved it to a safer planet. The location of the Forge, used to be secret, but it was always found, no matter where they tried to hide it."

"That happened thousands of years ago, right?" asked Layla. "And what happened when the Craftsman died?"

"One of his apprentices became the new Craftsman, and one of his apprentices became the new Craftsman after him, and so on," said Faragonda. "But the secrets of his success in crafting magical items have always lain in the Forge."

"And...the map we retrieved marks the current location of the Forge?" Helia ventured to ask.

"Yes, but let me get there first," said Faragonda. "During the war with the Ancient Witches, the Forge became a key place. If either of the two sides equipped their armies with the weapons of the Forge, they would be able to overwhelm any enemy faction. In fact, the witches managed to capture it, and renamed it The Forge of Nightmares. Fortunately, the members of the Company were able to regain it."

The Forge of Nightmares – the place where the Sword of Bane and the Obsidian Slayers were created. Everybody began to understand the importance of the mission. Suddenly, Bloom remembered something.

"Hagen," Bloom began. "Did he...?"

"Yes," said Faragonda, guessing Bloom's question. "He worked in the Forge. In fact, your father's sword comes from it. Maybe Hagen could have been the next Master Craftsman."

"And what happened with the Forge?" asked Nabu.

"Feeling that the Forge was too dangerous, the Company of the Light decided that it was for best to get rid of it. The Craftsman made the Forge nearly indestructible, so the only thing we could do was to hide it, along with the planet that housed it."

"Wait, did you guys _move a whole planet_?" asked Riven in awe.

"We had very powerful wizards," was Faragonda's explanation. "They moved the whole planet to a new, secret place. Only one of the wizards returned. He then codified the location of the Forge in a certain item, and hid it somewhere. Until now, the Forge and its location have been in the shadows. But, apparently, there are people who want it for themselves, and worked very hard for it. Fortunately, they haven't succeeded so far."

"Wait, why didn't you tell us about this before?" asked Layla, suspicious.

"Because I didn't know where the map was," said Faragonda. "It was thanks to the information Mirta and Lucy gathered."

Mirta smiled shyly.

"Well, maybe I could ask my parents," said Bloom. "They were the founders of the Company. They surely knew where the map was."

"As I said before, Bloom, only one man in the entire universe knew the exact location. Not even your parents knew about it. It was for the best," Faragonda concluded.

"Hey, if only one guy knew the location of the map, how is it that he knew about it?" asked Riven, pointing at Marco.

"Because that guy was my grandfather's brother," replied Marco. "He told my mother about the map and the Forge before dying."

"Well, I think that you already know what you have to do," said Faragonda, but she told them anyway. "Look for the Forge, and make sure that it doesn't fall in the wrong hands."

"Well, first we need to decipher the cube," said Marco.

"Leave it to me," said Tecna. "It'll be a great chance to test my new codebreaker program."

"Well, that's all. You're dismissed. Although I think that it would be good for all of you to relax and rest a bit before embarking on this new mission."

Of course, they were going to follow Faragonda's advice.

...

**Author's note:** Well, now you know why they were looking for the Forge. By the way, I think that this was also a great chance of fleshing out some of Tecna's homeworld. In the future, I'll try to write more about Zenith and Tecna's past. In the show, practically everything is connected to Bloom, so I guess that it would be a nice change if the Forge would be connected to Tecna instead. I must say that I won't update this story for some weeks, since I'm going to be very busy. Oh, and thanks a lot to the people who revew this story and help me to improve it.


	7. Rough Meeting

**Chapter 7: Rough Meeting**

Stella walked happily through the streets of Magix, stopping from time to time to take a look at the various shop windows. She had the urge to buy something, but what's the fun in shopping alone? Besides, her friends were waiting for her. They finally had some time for themselves, and they were going to make the most of it.

The blond girl finally saw her friends sitting on a terrace, having drinks and talking. Stella sat beside them.

"Sorry, I'm a bit late," said Stella.

The rest of the girls stopped their conversation, and stared at Stella incredulously. Of course this was noticed by her.

"Uh, what's wrong, girls? Do I have some lipstick in my face?" asked Stella, pulling out a small mirror from her purse.

"Excuse me but, what do you think you're doing?" asked Musa.

"What do you mean?" asked Stella.

"You come here and sit with us like we were longtime friends," said Tecna.

"That's because we're longtime friends, silly," said Stella, who was starting to get annoyed.

"Longtime friends? We don't even know who you are!" said Bloom.

Stella's confusion grew even more, but then she let out a small laugh. "Very funny, girls. Come on, drop it now."

"Maybe we should let her to stay with us," suggested Flora. "She looks to be desperate for friends."

"What's going on? Don't you remember me? It's me, Stella! The Princess of Solaria!"

"Listen, I don't know who you are or where do you come, but there's no such a thing as a 'Princess of Solaria'" said Aisha. "The king and queen of Solaria got divorced before having any children."

Stella then realized that they weren't kidding. They didn't remember her. Hell, it was like she had never existed.

"Hey, what's going on here?" asked a male voice.

Stella turned around, and saw her boyfriend Brandon as well as the rest of the specialists.

"This girl," said Bloom. "She came here talking like we know her."

"Because I do know you!" said Stella. "Brandon, please, tell them who I am!"

"And how am I supposed to know?" asked Brandon. "I don't know who you are either! And how do you know my name?"

"Listen, you need help," said Tecna softly, putting her hand on Stella's shoulder.

"No, YOU need help!" yelled Stella, while smacking Tecna's hand out of her shoulder. "Why doesn't anyone remember me!"

Stella then woke up. She was in her bedroom, in Solaria_**. **_She then jumped out of the bed and began to run through the palace screaming for her father. She opened every door she found, but her father wasn't in any of them. Finally, she found him in a meeting room, talking with other people.

"DAD!" yelled Stella.

"What's going on?" asked Radius.

"Dad, please, tell me that you remember me! Tell me that you know who I am!"

"Stella, calm down!" said Radius, holding Stella by her arms. "You're my daughter; of course I know who you are!"

Stella sighed in relief. It was just a bad dream.

"Stella, you entered here, hurling screams and interrupting one of my meetings, asking me if I remember you...what happened? Are you sick or something?"

"Nothing, Dad...nothing," said Stella, hugging her father. Radius hugged her back. "I just had a nightmare."

"My poor Stella..." said Radius. "Little do you know that your nightmare just began!"

Stella saw that she wasn't hugging her father anymore, but a huge man wearing black armor under a long, hooded, black robe, and a silver mask. Stella suddenly stepped back.

"You have something that's mine...and I want it back!" said the man in black.

Overwhelmed by terror, Stella tried to run away, but even if she was running, she felt that she wasn't moving at all. The man in black was coming...

"No, no, no, no...NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Stella!"

Covered in sweat, Stella woke up startled and sweaty. Bloom was looking at her.

"Bloom?" asked Stella.

"Stella, did you have a nightmare? We heard you scream..." said Bloom, worried.

"Yes, it was that...just a nightmare," said Stella, now relieved.

Stella found the place she was unfamiliar. However, she then remembered that it was one of the _Prometheus _rooms, since they were no longer students and therefore could not sleep at Alfea.

"Don't worry, she's okay," said Bloom to the rest of the girls, who were in the door, looking at them. Once they knew that Stella was okay, they left.

"I told her that she shouldn't eat so much mushroom pizza," Stella heard Aisha say.

Now she remembered. The last night they went out to downtown Magix with the specialists, have dinner and danced the whole night.

"Come on, get dressed. We have to see if Tecna's made some progress deciphering the cube," said Bloom.

Stella nodded in response.

…

It was a nice afternoon in Alfea. Mirta woke up early, and decided to spend some time in the courtyard. She already missed the sunrise, but she liked to be there anyway, to sit on a bench, and let Alfea's peaceful aura overcome her body. However, she saw that somebody already had the same idea.

Marco, the paladin they encountered in Danpal, sat on a bench, staring at nothing in particular. He wasn't wearing his armor, but more casual clothes: a black short-sleeved shirt, a blue waistcoat, brown trousers and black shoes.

It was the first time she had seen him since Faragonda told them about the Forge, since he hadn't hung out with them the last night (even though they had wanted him to go out with them, so they could get to know each other a bit better), nor slept in Tecna's ship. She wondered why he acted that way, why he wanted to be a loner. In fact, he didn't even look to have any friends. Well, maybe Mirta could be the first one.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" asked Mirta, snapping Marco out of his thoughts.

"Oh...sure," said Marco, moving aside, allowing more space for Mirta to sit down.

"By the way, I think that we haven't introduced each other yet. I'm Mirta," said Mirta, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

"Marco," said the paladin.

Suddenly, Mirta realized that she had no idea what to talk about. The paladin didn't seem to be too talkative, so it was up to her to avoid an uneasy silence.

"We were you yesterday night?" asked Mirta. Once she realized what she had asked, she felt really bad for being so indiscreet.

Marco looked at her, a bit incredulous.

"Sorry for that! I didn't want to be so tactless, it's just that, well, yesterday we wanted you to come with us to downtown Magix, and..."

"I just went for a walk," answered Marco.

"Did you want to be alone?" asked Mirta.

"Yes. I wanted some time to think," said Marco.

"Think about what?"

"About the events of these past days. And what I'm going to do."

"Well, the next time...maybe you could come with us. You could have had some fun," said Mirta.

Marco didn't reply.

"Well, where are you from?"

Marco then chuckled.

"Okay, why are you so interested in me?" asked Marco.

"I'm not interested! It's just that-"

"If you're not interested, then why did you come here and bombarded me with questions about myself. What's the deal?"

"I'm just trying to befriend you," said Mirta. "You could be a bit nicer. Two people get closer to each other when they talk and share things with each other and-"

"So now I'm supposed to ask things about you and feign interest?"

"Will you let me finish?" said Mirta, now irritated. "You know, when I first saw you, you looked so...lonely. And the worst thing is that you didn't even make an attempt to befriend anybody. That's why I-"

"I get it," interrupted Marco. "So, you're doing this out of pity, don't you?"

"Yes-NO!" said Mirta. "I don't this out of pity. It's because I know how you feel."

"Oh, really?" replied Marco sarcastically.

"Yes, I DO know!" yelled Mirta, earning a curious look from the paladin. Mirta suddenly clapped her hands over her mouth.

"You do?" asked the paladin, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's that...you know what?" said Mirta, truly angered. "I came here with my best intentions, just to cheer you up and be your friend, but now I see that you're not worth of it. You're the biggest jerk I've ever met! Goodbye, and enjoy your loneliness!"

Mirta stood up, and still angry, decided to go back to the _Prometheus._

"Mirta, wait!"

…

Back in the _Prometheus_, Bloom and Stella were about to join Tecna and the rest of the group in the ship's bridge. They ran into Mirta, and said hello to her, but Mirta, who seemed to be uncharacteristically angry, just went past them, not even looking back. In the bridge, Tecna was typing something in the ship's computer, while Timmy, Flora and Musa watched.

"Hello everybody," said Bloom. "How are you doing with the cube?"

"Not good," said Tecna, a bit disappointed. "This became a harder challenge than I anticipated. It may take longer than expected to decipher the cube."

"Where's the problem?" asked Stella. "I thought that with your powers and intelligence, that thing wouldn't be any trouble."

"It's not that easy, Stella," said Musa. "This cube is something not even Tecna has seen."

"Besides, it's not just that the information within the cube is codified," Timmy interjected. "There are loads of trash files mixed with the information that we need to filter first. It takes time, since first we also have to tell the difference between the good files and the bad files. We created an algorithm that can do that, but it will take time."

"In other words," said Bloom, who barely understood anything of what Timmy said. "You still have a lot of work."

"Well, not us, the computer," said Tecna. "I just loaded the program. We now can go and the computer will work on its own, and send a message to my badge when it's finished. I can't estimate an accurate amount of time, but it will be completely decoded between one and two days."

"Hey, do you think it's safe to have the cube here?" asked Flora. "They could come here and steal it."

"I don't think so," said Tecna. "They don't know where we are. Besides, we also took safety measures."

"So you can relax," said Timmy. "Everything's here is under control."

Now that the cube matter was solved (or, hopefully would be solved soon, if Tecna and Timmy were to be believed), Bloom decided to change the topic.

"Hey, any of you guys knows what's wrong with Mirta?" asked Bloom. Everybody shrugged.

"What do you mean?" asked Flora. "I talked with her yesterday, and she's fine."

"Well, it's that we saw her coming here, and she looked really angry," Stella explained.

"That's weird," said Musa. "Mirta isn't the type of girl who gets angry easily. It had to be something grave."

Now that Musa said it, none of them recalled seeing Mirta angry anytime.

"I'll talk with her," offered Flora.

…

Mirta was in her cabin, lying in a bed, muttering profanities against the paladin. At first she thought that maybe it was her fault. She went to him, and began to hassle him with questions. He felt lonely, alienated, and homesick. She _knew _it.

However, her kindness was returned with hostility and displeasure. The jerk! If somebody wanted to befriend and comfort Mirta when she felt lonely and unhappy, she would have been grateful! No, it wasn't her fault.

Upon thinking about it a bit more, Mirta surprised herself when she realized that it was the first time she was angry at somebody who hadn't tried to kill her first.

"Everything okay, Mirta?" asked a voice behind her. Mirta turned around and saw Flora.

"Yeah, everything's alright," said Mirta, giving Flora a fake smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Well...it's that you almost ran over Bloom and Stella," said Flora. "Come on, Mirta, tell me what's wrong."

Mirta's smile faded, but her face relaxed as well.

"It's nothing Flora. Really." Mirta answered. To some extent, it was true.

"Still, I think that it would be good if you talked about it with somebody," Flora insisted. "You know you can trust me."

Mirta stood up from the bed, and sighed heavily.

"I had an argument with that new guy you and the others brought," Mirta explained.

"Really?" asked Flora, frowning. "He looked to be a nice guy."

"Well, he isn't!" said Mirta. "I just tried to be nice to him and he kept being a jerk!"

Stella then entered the room.

"Mirta, there's somebody here who wants to see you," said Stella, grinning.

_Please, not be him, not be him..._

However, it was _him._

An apparently remorseful Marco entered in the room.

"Hello," said Marco shyly.

"What do you want?" asked Mirta bluntly.

"Listen, I want to apologize for my behavior toward you before," Marco began. "I'm not too...social. However, that wasn't an excuse for what I did. It was wrong."

"What do you say, Mirta?" asked Flora.

"Alright," said Mirta. "Apology accepted."

Deep inside, she was still a bit mad at him, but her (usually) soft temper forced her to forgive anybody who was truly repentant. Of course, she couldn't recall anybody apologizing to her before.

"And, since I see that a mere sorry won't be enough for you to not be mad at me, let me repay you," said Marco. "How about if I...invite you to eat, and we talk a bit? You can ask me everything you want. Do you accept?"

"It's very generous, but-"

"Of course she accepts!" said Stella, much to Flora and Mirta's shock. "Pick her by one P.M. Goodbye!"

Stella then practically pushed Marco out of the room, not even letting him say goodbye.

"Stella, why did you do that?" asked Flora.

"Do what?" asked the blonde innocently.

"Stella, why didn't you let _me_ to say if I wanted to eat with him or not?" asked Mirta, obviously pissed. Speaking of being indiscreet!

"Sorry, I thought that you needed a little push," said Stella.

"A push for what?" replied Mirta.

"Oh, come on! It's obvious that the guy likes you. And even more obvious that you like him back."

Flora always knew that Stella loved to pair people off, but she never thought that her friend would go so far.

"That's not true!" protested Mirta.

"Oh, come on Mirta! I saw the face you had when you saw him," said Stella.

"Which face? I was angry at him."

"Not that face. The face you had the very first second you saw him here."

"Stella, you can't know for sure if Mirta liked that guy," said Flora.

"Yes, yes I can," said Stella with a smug expression. "Besides, eating with him can't that bad, right? You should give him a chance. And if things don't work out, you don't have to see him again."

"Maybe you're right...there's no harm in trying," said Mirta, although still unconvinced.

"See?" said Stella, satisfied. "Anyway, I'm leaving. Have to tell the rest of the girls that you have a date!"

"Okay...wait, it's not a date!" said Mirta.

But Stella had already left.

…

"Tecna and Timmy started working on the cube," said Musa. "It should be deciphered in less than two days."

Musa, Aisha, Riven and Nabu, were in Faragonda's office, informing the headmistress about their progresses.

"Good to hear it," said Faragonda. "Once we get the location of the Forge, our top priority will be to find it and make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"I was thinking that, if the Forge is so dangerous, wouldn't be better if we destroyed the cube?" suggested Aisha. "This way, the location of the Forge would be lost forever, and we wouldn't have to worry."

"Aisha, I don't think that you're aware of the scale of all this. That Forge is a technological treasure. Back in the old days, we had to hide it so it didn't fall in the wrong hands. However, part of the plan was to recover it someday. That's why one of the wizards created a map with the location of the Forge."

"And...do you think that the time to recover the Forge is now?" asked Nabu.

"I don't see why not," said Faragonda with a shrug. "The knowledge that lies in that place could be used for a lot of good things."

"Yes, but, look what happened in the past," said Aisha. "After that Craftsman guy created the Forge, it sparked a lot of battles for it. I still think that we'll be better without it."

"You don't understand, do you? I'll try to explain," asked Faragonda. "The Forge is like, let's say, Bloom's Dragon Fire. Remember that the Trix wanted her powers, were successful in their quest and almost destroyed Magix. However, do you think that the best solution would be to kill off Bloom?"

Aisha was horrified. "Of course not!"

"But Bloom was – _is –_ the keeper of the Dragon Fire. If we would kill her, the Dragon Fire would disappear along her. But both you and I know that that isn't the right thing to do."

"It's not the same," countered Aisha. "Bloom is a human being, a living creature. The Forge is just a building."

"Okay, let me try again," said Faragonda. "Do you think that we should burn Alfea's library?"

That question took Aisha by surprise, mostly because it was something rather stupid.

"Of course not!" said Aisha.

"And why not? Applying your logic, we should. Alfea houses books that contain very powerful spells, potion recipes, registers about every fairy that has ever existed, maps, and many more things. Just think what would happen if that knowledge fell into the wrong hands and was used against us."

"Yes but, well, those books are used to train and instruct fairies, right? And I remember when we..."said Aisha. Suddenly, she realized what Faragonda wanted to say. The headmistress smiled.

"Aisha, knowledge, like magic, is not good or bad. It depends on what you choose to do with it. Just because somebody may use magic for evil deeds doesn't mean that magic should be forbidden. And just because somebody uses knowledge for evil deeds doesn't mean that we should be afraid of research and make new discoveries."

Everybody meditated on Faragonda's words.

"The first Master Craftsman was probably one of the most intelligent people who ever lived, and make a lot of progress in the fields of both science and magic, progress that was sadly lost. And now, we have the chance to recover it. Do you understand it now?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Aisha.

"I'm glad to hear it. You're dismissed. Tell me when you have deciphered the cube."

…

Some minutes later, Aisha was on one of Alfea's balconies, looking at the horizon with dreamy eyes. She could see the _Prometheus_, where the cube lay. She could also see the few fairies that had already arrived at the school. She even discerned Musa, who was talking with Riven. She wondered what they were saying.

"Aisha."

The princess of Andros started, and turned around to see Nabu.

"Nabu! What do you want?" asked the fairy of water.

"I just wanted to say that I'm with you," said Nabu. He came close to her, and placed his hand over hers. "I also think that the Forge is too dangerous."

"Oh," said Aisha flatly. Nabu didn't say anything during their conversation with the headmistress, and now that Aisha was convinced of Faragonda's point of view, it came as a surprise."Then why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because I also agreed with what Faragonda said," said Nabu. "She set up a good example. But then I started to think: how much good can the Forge do? From what we know, the Forge was used to create weapons primarily. And, regardless of all the technology and knowledge and stuff...just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you have to do it, right?"

Aisha raised an eyebrow, intrigued."What do you mean?"

"I mean, what the technology in the Forge can do," the wizard said. "I agree that knowledge itself is not a bad thing, but what we must think of are the _applications_ of certain knowledge. Let's say that the Forge has the way to build a weapon that can blow up a whole planet. That's just indiscriminate destruction, with no good uses."

"I see," said Aisha. "However, we're not aware of what technology we might find."

"Exactly," said Nabu. "That's why we can't take this issue lightly. Once we find the Forge, it should be of paramount importance to inspect it closely, and then decide what to do. I know that our mission is to report the location of the Forge once we find it but—"

"Don't you trust Faragonda?" interrupted Aisha.

"Yes. But, as I said before, we should be very careful."


	8. Mysteries

**Author's note: **well, since today's my birthday, here you have a new chapter as a gift. Hope you like it.

Regarding Marco, there was some discontent with what happened in the previous chapter. Sure, like Darev said, is somebody used to work alone (mostly) and who finds difficult to trust anybody, but he will open to others over time. Let me tell you that Marco is a very complicated character, more than he actually appear to be, and it will take time to fully develop. However, don't think that the Winx are going to change his personality, beliefs and views on certain issues so easily. He has a brain, and thinks for himself. Like this chapter will show, is his past life that made him what he's now, and in the future, some of his thoughts will change, but others will remain untouched.

**Chapter 8: Mysteries**

It was noon in Magix, and Mirta, like she said (well, maybe like Stella said) was in a restaurant with Marco. She was having a salad, and he was having macaroni with cheese. Mirta was speaking.

"...and, before the Trix launched their final attack, Flora turned me back into a human," Mirta said.

"You know, those Trix girls seem to be very mean," commented Marco. "How could they turn anybody into a pumpkin?"

"Well, 'mean' just doesn't even begin to describe them," said Mirta. "'Diabolical' is a better word."

"So, what happened next?"

"As I was saying, The Trix deployed all of their forces, ready to crush Alfea. They had the upper hand, until Bloom arrived and fought Icy, while the other four girls fought Darcy and Stormy, and-"

"Wow, so just one single fairy changed the course of a battle?" interrupted the paladin, amazed. "Your friend Bloom must be really powerful."

"You can bet she is," said Mirta. "They defeated the Trix, and thus, the Army of Decay vanished. Then we had a huge party to celebrate not only our victory, but the fact that the witches from Cloud Tower were now friends of Alfea and Red Fountain. I also decided to transfer to Alfea, and become a fairy instead of a witch."

"That was an amazing story," Marco said.

"And that was only our first year here!" said Mirta, laughing. "If you knew what happened afterward...but I think that I've been talking about myself too much. What about you?"

"Well, after the story you told me, I'm afraid that my life will sound really boring," said Marco.

"Don't worry, I still want to know. Where are you from?" said Mirta.

"I'm from a place called Lumyon. I don't know if you heard of it."

"How about your friends? Do you miss them?"

"I don't have any friends."

The statement shocked Mirta. "That's horrible!" she said, with her eyes wide open. "Why not? I know that I called you a jerk, but I'm sure that you-"

"Guess that I never had time to make friends," said Marco.

"Come again?"

"My mother is the Guardian Fairy of Lumyon, and thus, she's usually very busy, and couldn't take care of me properly."

"What about your father?"

"He died when I was a baby, during the war with the Ancient Witches."

"I'm...I'm sorry to hear that..."

"Well, don't be. It's not like you killed him," said Marco. "Anyway, as I was saying, my mother was going to send me to a boarding school, but my grandfather offered to educate me instead, and gave me a basic education, such as reading and writing, and then math, literature, philosophy, and that kind of stuff. Finally, he introduced me to armed combat."

"Armed combat?"

"He's also the head of the planet's military force, but his job implies more paperwork than actual fighting, so he had plenty of time for me," Marco clarified. "Anyway, I showed prowess in combat, and joined the Lumyon Knights. When my powers started to bloom, they moved me to the Paladin Corps. Retrieving the cube with the map of the Forge was my first solo mission."

"Well, I'm sure that you befriended somebody in the army, right?" asked Mirta.

"We weren't allowed to fraternize with our teammates, if that's what you mean," said Marco. "If our commanders noted that two or more teammates became close, they were sent to different teams."

"And why they did do that?" asked Mirta.

"Because most enemies we fought tended to take advantage of close relationships," the paladin explained. "They used to take hostages in order to force us to surrender or to make exchanges. We had to focus on the mission, not on our teammates. Don't get me wrong, we helped each other if needed, but never compromise the mission. That was the most important thing."

"It makes sense," Mirta admitted. "But I still think that they shouldn't do that. They treated you more like war machines than human beings. You can't force anybody to suppress his emotions."

"Our philosophy was that, if a single sacrifice could save at least two lives, it was worth of it. We didn't think about ourselves, but about the good things we did with our actions, even if it implied our end. In fact, I also strongly believed that friendship and feelings in general were an obstacle when you're in a battle...at least until now."

"Until now?" Mirta asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Until I met some of your friends," said Marco. "The first time I saw them, I couldn't believe how they hoped to succeed in their task. They were so disorganized: there were so many discrepancies amongst them, they were constantly arguing about what to do, and lacked a hierarchy, or even a leader, for that matter...

"However, despite all of this, they proved to be an excellent team: they fought as if they were one, they were able to protect and care for each other without losing sight of their objective, and, if something went wrong or simply not as planned, instead of retreating, they came up with a new plan as they went along. And what amazed me most is that they managed all of this despite obviously being close friends."

"Maybe it was not _despite_, but _because of _it," said Mirta.

"What do you mean?"

"Friendship is not a weakness you must overcome. In fact, love, either for your family, friends or in a romantic sense, is one of the most powerful forces in this world, a force that can make you do things you thought were impossible. In fact, that's why the Winx Club has risen triumphant over every enemy they faced."

"How can it be?" asked Marco. "You told me that, when one of them was in trouble, the rest of them forget about what they were doing, even if it was more important, and focused all their attention and energies on their distressed member. That's very irresponsible."

"But, in the end, they won, didn't they?"

"It may be luck."

"You saw it for yourself," Mirta said with a shrug. "They fight with such cohesion because of their friendship. They feel comfortable with each other, prompting them to fight better. The more they fight together, the closer they grow. And the closer they grow, the stronger they get."

"I've never seen it that way."

"Of course you haven't, if you never had a friend," said Mirta, although she didn't mean to be mean.

"And how can you make friends? How did you meet yours?" asked the paladin.

"It's more complicated than that," said the half-witch. "Friendship is formed unconsciously. But sometimes you can try to befriend somebody."

"Like you did with me?"

"Yes. And the offer still stands."

"Alright. I want you and me to be friends. What do I have to do?"

Mirta chuckled. "Exactly what you were doing this last hour. We've been talking, sharing something personal with each other. We're no longer strangers."

"Really? I didn't even realize..."

"That's what I told you!" said Mirta, happy that Marco was starting to understand.

"But I was doing this to compensate for my behavior before..."

"That's another form of friendship. When two friends fight, they try to find the way to make things up"

"I see. But what happens if they never make things up?"

"I guess that they stop being friends."

"So...we're friends now?"

"Well, two people can't be friends overnight, but give it time," said Mirta, giving him a friendly smirk.

"Okay," said Marco, smiling as well. "One last question: does friendship involve physical contact?"

"Physical contact?" asked Mirta, confused. "Why are you-?"

The half-fairy then realized that Marco was looking at something on the table. Mirta looked in the same direction, and saw in horror that her hand was on top of his. Upon realizing this, her hand immediately flew out of his, and she let out a faint shriek.

"S-sorry for that!" apologized Mirta, very nervous. _What the hell were you doing?_

"Mirta, are you okay?" asked the paladin. "You're face is getting all red..."

"Sorry, but I have to go!" blabbered Mirta.

"Is it something I said?"

"No, it's just that...you're a nice guy, but...I have to go!" reiterated Mirta, as she ran away from the restaurant.

Marco was more confused than ever. He'll never understand these people.

…

Timmy entered the _Prometheus'_ bridge, and unsurprisingly, found Tecna there, typing something in one of the computers.

"Hey, Tec, I'm hungry," the specialist said. "How about if we go to downtown Magix and eat?"

"Okay," said Tecna, not even looking away from the screen. "Just wait a bit."

"Tecna, you've been here for hours. Give yourself a rest."

"Just wait a minute!"

"By the way, what are you doing? The cube is already being deciphered." asked Timmy, coming close to her, looking at the screen.

"I was looking for some information about the Forge," replied Tecna.

"Tecna, your dedication is admirable, but I think that you could do that later."

"It's not just for the mission," said Tecna. "The Forge of Wonders was a treasure of my home planet; however, I was never told about it. It has to be something more than a mere weapon factory. "

"I see...and did you find something?" asked Timmy, leaning on the table.

"Negative," said Tecna. "I've inspected all historical websites and databases from Zenith, with no success. None of them said anything we don't already know. It's like they-"

"...deleted all the information regarding the Forge?" asked Timmy, finishing Tecna's sentence.

"Exactly."

A brief moment of silence.

"Timmy, in my world, technological progress is almost sacred," Tecna explained. "It's just not logical that my people let all that knowledge to be lost and do nothing."

"Well, it doesn't make sense."

"And it's not just that. You heard Faragonda. Zenith was created because of the Forge. It's a symbol of our beginning."

"So...do you think that there's a reason of why your people forgot about the Forge?" asked Timmy.

"That's what I'm trying to unveil," said Tecna

"Anyway, I'm sure that we can gather new information once we're there," said Timmy. Tecna immediately caught the subtext of the comment.

"Timmy, this is important," said Tecna.

"I know," the specialist answered. "But so is rest. Tec, you've done a lot recently, and I think that you deserve a break."

Finally, Tecna stopped typing, let out a heavy sigh and turned to Timmy. "Okay, you win."

"Good," said Timmy, satisfied. "Because I was starting to starve."

…

"Did you call, Ma'am?" asked Lucy.

Lucy was in Griffin's office. The headmistress sat at her desk.

"Yes, Lucy," said Griffin. "I got a call from Faragonda, and the result of the expedition."

Griffin then told Lucy everything, from the fight against the psychic witch to the history of the Forge.

"...and we think that those who attacked us may be after the Forge now," Griffin finished.

"I don't understand," the green-haired girl began. "What does Cloud Tower have to do with that place?"

"I don't know, but I think that we should find out."

"What about the Forge? Are we going to do anything about it?"

"No. The Winx Club already offered to handle the matter themselves. However, that doesn't mean that we're going to stay here doing nothing. I have a new assignment for you."

"What about my classes?" asked Lucy.

"I'll have another teacher to substitute while you're busy," said Griffin, playing it down. "I want you to gather all the information you can about these people."

Griffin motioned her hands making a complicated gesture, and the illusions of Kharel and Neyra appeared before her.

"I see," said Lucy. "What about the other two?"

"One of them is named Gaul. He was a former partner from my time with the Coven. I want you to investigate him as well."

"And the man in black?"

"You wouldn't find anything about him. That man is a mystery," said Griffin.

"Well, he must have some family, a home world, or other personal things that-"

"Lucy, do you even know his name?"

"No."

"Neither do I," Griffin stated, much to Lucy's shock.

"No name?" asked Lucy.

"As I said before, there's nothing known about that man. Apparently, Valtor found him somewhere, but he never told me."

"I have the feeling that we'll have to deal with him again," said Lucy, sorrowful.

"Me too. He attacked Cloud Tower twice in a span of three months, and I'm sure that he won't give up. But this time, we will be prepared."

"I guess that we won't need information about him if we kick his ass the next time, right?" asked Lucy. Griffin smiled with satisfaction.

"That's why this mission is so important. Any data regarding his minions may provide useful information about him. Now go."

…

Two days later, Tecna finally deciphered the cube, revealing the location of the Forge of Wonders. It was a simple task: find the Forge and secure it. If they were victorious, the Magix Council would determinate a new place for the Forge to be hidden.

Along with the Winx Club, Mirta and the specialists, Marco also joined the expedition. He wanted to go because he still had a mission to fulfill, or that's what he said, but nobody opposed to taking him with them. In fact, he could be useful.

Mirta told Lucy to come with them, but the witch rejected the offer. She told Mirta about the mission Griffin gave her, and wished her friend good luck.

They checked the state of the ship, the baggage for the mission, the food and their weapons. They were ready to go.

…

Meanwhile, in the Omega Dimension, Gaul was talking with his master, the man in black, when Mirage burst in.

"They're leaving!" the witch shouted.

The two men looked at her, ignoring her bad manners due to the good news.

"Are you sure?" asked Gaul.

"Yes, they just left Magix in a spaceship, I think," said Mirage. "And they are all together. I'm sure that they're going to look for the Forge."

"That's excellent news, Mirage," praised Gaul. "You did excellent work."

Mirage smiled with satisfaction.

"Okay, now let's go. We have to arrive first," said the man in black.

"With all due respect, Master, I don't think that you should come," said Gaul.

"Come again?" asked the man, incredulous.

"You still haven't recovered from your injuries, Master. You should stay here and rest." Gaul, however, noted his master's anger. "It's for your sake. Remember what happened in Cloud Tower. We don't want that to happen again, do we?"

"You win, this time, Gaul," said the man resentfully.

"Don't be mad at me, Master. If we succeed – and we will – you'll be back to your old self, which means that your powers won't be out of control again."

The man in black said nothing.

"Just trust us," Gaul then turned at Mirage. "Get the ship ready. I'll tell Kharel and Neyra about the task."

...

**Author's note:** Yeah, not too much happened in this chapter, but is important. The next two chapters will be very action packed, but due to some personal problems, I may take some time to upload them. Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter.


	9. The Battle of the Forge

**Chapter 9: The Battle of the Forge**

It took three days to arrive at Celebion, the planet that currently housed the Forge of Wonders. It was uninhabited, which was probably the reason why the Company decided to hide the Forge there.

"We will arrive at Celebion in less than twenty minutes," said Timmy. "So everybody get ready."

"Hey, I was just thinking," said Stella.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day!" laughed Musa.

"Very funny," said Stella, annoyed. "Like I was saying before Ms. Snarky interrupted me, what is it that we are going to do after we're done with this mission?"

"Nothing," said Sky. "The Magix Council will decide the future of the Forge. Why do you ask?"

"I didn't mean that. I was talking about the guys we fought at Cloud Tower, and that girl Flora and the others fought on Danpal."

"Well, Stella has a point," said Bloom. "We should go after them once the Forge is safe."

"Remember that Griffin said their leader was one of Valtor's disciples," pointed out Tecna.

"Well, Valtor's legacy will die as he did," said Bloom with determination. Although she had defeated the dark wizard, he now returned to haunt her in the form of his apprentice.

"What about the rest of the group?" asked Stella.

"Lucy is investigating them," said Mirta. "They'll probably have a home world, family, maybe a criminal record and other information we may use to our benefit."

"I hope she gets lucky," said Layla. "We only fought one of them, a witch with psychic powers, and trust me, it was worse than fighting against the Trix,"

"Let's not forget that she can summon those immune-to-magic black knights," said Musa.

"We fought against the other two: another witch, and a knight," said Bloom. "The knight has a sword that can steal our powers."

"I saw their leader," said Mirta. "And Lucy even fought against him. He almost killed all of us."

"And how did you defeat him, then?" asked Riven.

"He collapsed for no reason. Maybe he was sick or something," conjectured Mirta. "Griffin said something about pushing his limits."

"Forget about them, at least for now," said Sky. "We have a mission to fulfill. Once we're done with it, we'll-"

Sky couldn't finish his line because something shook the spaceship violently. Everybody lost their balance and fell to the floor, although some of them were able to grab onto something. The lights went off, but soon they were replaced by red lights, and a piercing beep resounded through the bridge.

"What's going on!" yelled Stella.

"We've just ran into an electromagnetic storm!" said Timmy. "I lost the control of the ship!"

"Why the hell didn't the radar detect it?" asked Tecna, who seemed to be more frustrated with her ship's failure rather than the dangerous situation.

"Can't you fix it?" asked Musa.

"The only solution is to get out of the storm," Timmy explained, more calm than his girlfriend. "But it's not going to be easy."

...

The occupants of the _Prometheus_ weren't aware that another, smaller ship went past them.

"Good job with the storm, girls," praised Gaul. "It almost looks natural."

"Thanks," said Neyra, proud. "Although the credit goes to my sister."

_Flashback_

_"Judging by your face, I guess that you weren't successful," said Gaul. "Am I right?"_

_"Yes," muttered Mirage, angered. "Like always."_

_"Hope that, for the next time, you learn not to underestimate your enemies," said Gaul. "I guess that we have to start all over again..."_

_"Master, I failed in my task," Mirage began. "But maybe not everything is lost."_

_Gaul suddenly turned to her._

_"What do you mean? Speak!"_

_"Well, during my fight with the Winx Club, I implanted psychic seeds in all of them. I know where they are at any moment. When they go to look for the forge, I'll know it."_

_Gaul meditated about Mirage's alternative plan._

"_Besides, the cube was probably encrypted, so they'll do all the hard work for us. We only have to wait."_

_Gaul would smile, if he actually _could_._

"_Excellent work, Mirage," praised Gaul. "It's good to see that you're finally becoming more resourceful."_

_End Flashback_

"Kharel, land as soon as possible. It won't take long for the storm to vanish," said the hooded man.

"As you say, Master," replied the knight.

"I don't know why we're doing this," said Mirage. "We could wait for them on the surface and kill them all. I want revenge!"

"Calm your temper, brat," said Gaul, displeased. "That kind of attitude is what led you to failure. Confrontation will be avoided if possible. Remember that we can't rely on the Obsidian Slayers yet. The amulet isn't completely recharged."

"It's not that you're wrong, master, but we don't have too much of an advantage," intervened Neyra. "They'll catch up with us."

"Oh, leave them to me," said Kharel, wearing a sadistic smile on his face. "They won't stand a chance."

…

Ten minutes later, they were able to escape from the electromagnetic storm, and enter the planet. The _Prometheus _was now flying above their target, which rose proudly among the jungle plants that covered the area.

The Forge of Wonders was a large building made of a coppery metal, adorned with many ancient symbols and runes. It had the shape of a T, the entrance being in its longer branch. Watching the entrance, there was the statue of a man wearing an ultra-futuristic-looking armor that, paradoxically, was made thousands of years ago. It was the first Master Craftsman.

"When I go back to Solaria, I'm going to ask for a huge statue of myself. It will look great in the front yard!" said Stella.

"Uh oh," said Tecna.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Bloom.

"Yes. The radar detected another ship near the Forge," said Timmy. "And it's the same ship we saw in Danpal."

Of course, that was really bad news.

"I guess that time is against us," said Helia. "Timmy, drop us as soon as possible."

"Alright. Everybody, go to the hangar and stand on the teleport platform."

…

The Forge of Wonders was divided in five sections: the first, and biggest, was the Hall of Enlightenment, so called because it housed many rooms with computers with loads and loads of information about the Forge, and the secrets of forging good magic items. It also housed the power core, and the rooms of the Craftsman's apprentices.

Below the Hall was the Vault of Treasures, a basement where all the magical items were stored. The west wing was called the Mechanical Heart, where all the machinery was, and where all the items were crafted. The east wing was the Mechanical Brain, a supercomputer used to design blueprints and specifications of the items that were about to be forged, as well as many other applications.

And finally, above all of the four sections was the High Sanctuary, the Master Craftsman's private room, which also housed all the controls and boards that allowed the Forge to be moved.

Gaul's group opened the door and were about to enter the Forge when they saw the _Prometeus_ firing a white beam at the ground.

…

Even if they were in a rush, they weren't running, but walking. The Forge was near (everybody could see it) and maybe their enemies had set a trap for them. Flora asked the plants for the fastest way to reach the Forge. The plants also fearfully told her that a cold and unnatural being was in the Forge.

They arrived at the Forge, and saw that the huge gates were already open.

"I sense that there's going to be a brawl soon," said Brandon.

"Did you figure that out all by yourself?" asked Riven.

"Guys, calm down," said Musa. "We have to be focused."

Tecna's badge beeped. She pressed one of its sides, and it projected an hologram of Timmy.

"Yes, Timmy?" asked Tecna

"The computer already scanned the Forge. I uploaded the map onto your badges," informed Timmy.

The hologram of Timmy disappeared, and was replaced an holographic map of the Forge.

"Got it," said Tecna.

"Now be careful. I'll be watching from the sky."

They entered through the already-open door, and saw the Hall of Enlightenment, a huge hallway with many doors, laconically decorated. The skylights that illuminated the place were also used by many climbers to enter the building. In the middle of the hall stood a lone man in a red armor, wielding a huge, glowing sword. Bloom, Stella and Tecna were startled when they saw him.

"I was hoping that we would meet again," said Kharel. "And I see that you brought more friends. Excellent!"

"Who's that guy?" asked Mirta.

"Boys, that man is dangerous, and we need you to fight him for us," said Bloom, partially hiding behind Sky.

"Is that the man who stole your powers?" asked Sky. Bloom nodded. He could see fear and desperation in his fiancé's eyes, which was unusual. The King of Eraklyon found an extra motivation to fight.

"My guess is that he's not alone," Layla proposed. "And that he's here to keep us busy."

"Okay, this is the plan: Brandon, Riven, Helia and I will fight him here. The rest of you, go and look for the rest of his group," said Sky.

"Okay, but be careful," said Stella. "The guy doesn't look to be weak,"

"Don't worry, we will be fine," said Brandon, self confident.

"Enough chit chat! If you're not going to attack, I'll make the first move!" Kharel then pointed at Stella with his magic sword, and cast a blue beam at her. However, Brandon dashed in front of Stella, taking the blow for her.

"Brandon!"

"Now your powers are MINE!" said Kharel in delight.

Brandon, however, seemed to be perfectly okay.

"Hey, are you okay, bro?" asked Sky.

"Yes...it only made me tickle," joked the squire.

Kharel then noticed that there was something wrong. He didn't feel a new power flowing through his body. It didn't take too much time to figure out why.

"What the hell? No powers?" asked Kharel, in shock.

"You know, I always envied the girls for their magical abilities," said Riven, activating his phantoblade. "And now we're going to face an enemy that we can beat and the Winx can't because of our lack of powers. Irony can be sweet at times!"

"Anyway, I do know that the girls do have powers," said Kharel, looking at Flora. "Let's start with you!"

However, before the red knight could steal Flora's powers, Helia wrapped his laser string around Kharel's ankle, pulled it, and made him fall.

"Now!" shouted Helia. "We will take care of him!"

"Thanks, Helia!" said Flora, running away with the rest of her friends. "Be careful!"

When Kharel was again on his feet, not only had the Winx already left, but he was surrounded, thus preventing him from going after them.

…

Gaul, Neyra and Mirage arrived at the main room. There were four stairs, which lead to the four wings of the Forge.

"I feel something," said Mirage. "It's them. Kharel wasn't able to hold them. At least, not all of them."

"I see," said Gaul. "You two go to the Vault. I'll stay here and keep them busy."

"What?" asked Mirage. "Oh, come on! I want my revenge! And your powers are weaker during the day!"

"Do as I say, Mirage," said Gaul, who was starting to lose patience. "This is no time to question orders."

"Come on sis, he knows better than us," said Neyra.

"Alright..." muttered Mirage.

"You'll need this," said Gaul, handing Neyra something. It was a glass jar with a piece of black crystal in it.

...

"Now, I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Bloom!" shouted Sky, charging forward, waving his blue sword in the air.

Kharel, however, simply raised his fist, like he was ready to punch Sky in defense, and it began to glow dark.

"Fist of Terror!" yelled Kharel.

A bolt of black energy came out of the knight's fist, hitting Sky, hurling him backwards. The specialist even dropped his blade, which deactivated itself.

"As you can see, I have some magic tricks of my own," said Kharel, looking at the knocked-down king. "Guess that I'll have to end this the old-fashioned way."

Brandon charged at him this time, and Kharel used the same tactic. Brandon, however, used his sword to block the incoming attack. Although he wasn't harmed, the attack was so powerful that it pushed him back.

It was Riven's turn; however, instead of charging at him, he decided to toss two holoshurikens at his foe. The knight waved his sword to parry the attack, but it was just a trick to give Riven time to charge. Instead of delivering a blow with his sword, he jumped and kicked Kharel right in the face, making him to fall to the floor.

"If you liked that, I can repeat!" said Riven, grinning smugly.

Recovered, Sky charged at the now-injured red knight. However, Kharel proved to be more resilient than expected, and immediately rose to his feet again, parrying Sky's blow in time. They exchanged swipes, moving across the hallway, when Kharel jumped backwards and raised his right fist, ready to cast his dreadful attack again.

However, Helia used his laser string to immobilize Kharel's right hand, forcing the knight not only to cancel his attack, but to defend himself with only one arm. Brandon and Riven were about to join Sky in the fight. Kharel was a good swordsman, but he couldn't hold his might against three skilled fighters while a fourth one immobilized his right arm and prevented him from fleeing.

The red knight kicked Sky, dropped his sword and quickly looked for something in a bag buckled to his belt. He found it: a smoke bomb. Using the bomb, the three specialists were engulfed in a cloud of smoke. They couldn't see anything, and began to cough.

"Don't worry, this guy isn't going anywhere!" said Helia, firmly holding the string around his foe.

When the smoke faded, apparently nothing changed: Kharel was there. However, he was now holding Helia's string with both hands. Suddenly, as if the knight had just became ten times stronger in ten seconds, he pulled Helia with massive force and tossed him against the other three specialists.

"This is going to take longer than I expected," sighed the red knight, while the specialists stood up and picked their weapons.

…

Bloom and the others arrived at the central room, where a hooded man was waiting for them.

"Geez, another guy waiting for us," said Stella, annoyed.

"Take care! This is the unnatural being the plants told me about!" warned Flora.

"Yes, I can feel that there's a wicked energy coming from that guy," said Nabu, adopting a battle stance.

Even if she only saw him for less than a minute, Mirta immediately recognized the man.

"It's you!" said Mirta.

"Did you meet him?" asked Musa, confused.

"He was one of the guys who attacked Cloud Tower," explained Mirta.

"You have to be Mirta, I am right?" asked the hooded man. "The witch-turned-fairy that fooled our first invasion of Cloud Tower."

Now there was no doubt about the attack on Cloud Tower three months ago.

"Hey, we were there too!" said Stella. "Give us some credit!"

"Oh, don't worry, I will. And I'll make sure that you're punished for it," said the hooded man in a menacing tone.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but many crazy witches and evil sorcerers like you dared to fight us in the past, and none of them survived!" said Layla.

"But you'll see that I'm nothing like what you've seen in the past," said the man.

"And who the hell are you, anyway?" asked Bloom.

"Oh, my, where are my manners?" asked the man, genuinely concerned about his behavior, strange as it sounds. "Allow me to present myself: my name's Gaul, former member of the Ancient Witch Coven."

Gaul removed his hood and cloak, and the fairies, wizard and paladin gasped in horror.

"What's that?" said Flora in pure horror.

Gaul was, effectively, like nothing they saw in the past: he had no skin, no muscle, no blood and no hair. He was a living skeleton. Two red lights like burning coals filled his eye sockets. He wore a long purple robe that went down to his feet, but didn't cover his bare thoracic cavity. Many long necklaces hung from his neck. Some of them were adorned with skulls of smaller animals. A black circlet with four horns crowned his head.

"I can't believe it...it's a lich!" said Nabu, perplexed.

"Oh, I see that you have heard about us," said Gaul, pleased with Nabu's knowledge.

"What's a lich?" asked Tecna. It was rare to see her asking for information.

"A lich is a transformation a wizard can achieve. I'm unaware of the details, but when a wizard becomes a lich, he gains immortality and a great power. However...well, you can see it for yourselves."

"That's horrible!" said Mirta, terrified as well. "Who would do something so horrific to himself?"

"Life is a quest for power," recited the lich. "And such a great power like this is worthy of the cost."

Marco spoke for first time. "What do you plan to do with the Forge?"

"I'm glad that you asked," said Gaul, satisfied. "Our original plan was to control the minds of all of the witches from Cloud Tower, in order to have an army. Then we would equip them with the weapons from this place. With that combination of dark magic and technology, we would have an army stronger than any kingdom's, and achieve our goal."

"Let me guess: that goal would be to rule the universe, right?" asked Layla.

"Of course not!" said Gaul, almost like Layla had said something hugely stupid. "The universe is too big to be ruled by a single person or by a small group. Not even by the ancient witches, but I was nobody to question them."

"So, what do you and your group of freaks plan to do with the witches from Cloud Tower?" asked Musa.

"We would use that army to purge the world of fairies," stated Gaul. "Even if now we lack an army, we soon will have one."

"Purge the world of fairies?" repeated Flora. "And why do you want to do such a horrible thing?"

"Because there's no place for you in this universe," said Gaul with extreme contempt. "Like I said before, life is a quest for power. The strong rise, the weak fall. It's how the universe is, and should be. But you fairies corrupt that order by helping the weak against the strong, and giving a false view of the strong being equal to the weak, when they not! You're _unnatural_!"

"Look's who's talking..." said Stella, rolling her eyes.

"You can say what you want, Fairy of the Sun," replied Gaul. "But once every single fairy in the universe is dead, we will turn it into a paradise of eternal darkness, where the great and the strong won't be constrained by the weak and the small. Your deaths today will mark the beginning of this new, golden era."

"I think that I've heard enough," said Bloom, taking a step forward. "And if you think that we're going to let you to do such a thing, you don't know us! Go Enchantix!"

Bloom transformed into her fairy form, and flew at Gaul, who adopted a battle stance.

"Ah, Bloom, daughter of Oritel and Miriam, keeper of the Dragon Fire," said Gaul. "And the one who killed Master Valtor."

"Yes, and you'll meet him soon! Prepare to die...again! Dragon's Flame!"

Bloom summoned a huge ball of fire between her hands, and cast it at the lich. Gaul, however, vanished when the ball touched him.

"What?"

"Did you think that I was going to stand there and take your attack?" said Gaul's voice, which seemed to come from everywhere. "Think again!"

"Musa! Track him!" said Bloom.

Musa pricked her sonar ears up, trying to figure where the lich went, with no luck.

"I'm aware of your little tricks, Fairy of Music!" said Gaul's voice.

"Come on girls, Enchantix!" shouted Stella, and she and the rest of the Winx transformed, and joined Bloom.

"Hell, where did he go?" asked Marco, activating his yellow phantoblade.

"He can't be too far," said Nabu. "I still perceive his magic!"

"Maybe I'm nearer that you think," said Gaul's voice from behind him.

Nabu turned back, and saw the lich standing right in front of him. The lich raised his hands, and blasted Nabu and Marco, knocking them back. The rest of the fairies landed to help the boys.

"Marco!" yelled Mirta, and quickly came to his aid.

"Forget about me! Get him!" said Marco, refusing Mirta's help.

"Watch out! He's going to cast another spell!" warned Layla, helping Nabu to stand up.

And, indeed, Gaul was channeling his energy, glowing purple, ready to unleash a massive conjure.

"Now watch and despair! Swamp of the Underworld!" said Gaul while raising his arms.

Suddenly, the metallic floor turned into a muddy swamp in a matter of seconds.

"How revolting!" said Stella disgustedly.

"Do you think you can beat us with mud?" asked Musa.

"Oh, but this is not all! The best part comes now!" said Gaul.

From the mud began to emerge something, in large numbers. The group realized in horror that they were living skeletons, like Gaul himself, wielding rusted weapons and armor. Strangely, they moved rather swiftly despite the swamp.

"This is not a mere swamp," said Gaul. "But a portal to the Underworld. I can summon endless hordes of tireless undead warriors that will do my bidding!"

"Come on, let's get out of here!" said Tecna. However, all of them found themselves unable to fly. The swamp had trapped them.

"The swamp craves new, fresh souls. It won't let you go! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Gaul maniacally.

"We can't fly!" panicked Stella. "What are we going to do now?"

"Calm down, Stella! Think! That's what we're going to do!"

Soon Nabu and Marco, who were nearer to Gaul, saw that the skeletons were already there, and began to fight them, although it was a hard thing to do, since they couldn't move. They helped themselves with magic, but soon they were overpowered.

"Come on, we have to help them!" urged Layla. "Hold on a bit longer, guys!"

"Hey, I think that I have an idea," said Flora, closing her eyes, and putting her hands together. Suddenly a strong wind began to blow. "Nature Symphony!"

A hurricane formed in front of the paladin and the wizard, vacuuming the skeletons.

"Now!"

"Dragon Fury!" yelled Bloom.

"Solar Flare!" said Stella.

"Electric Storm!" shouted Tecna.

"Sonic Blast!" said Musa.

"Morphix Ball!" shouted Layla.

"Crimson Beam!" said Mirta.

The six attacks collided with Flora's hurricane, creating a huge explosion, reducing the skeletons to ashes.

"Nice job, girls," praised Nabu.

"Yeah, I never saw anybody doing something like that!" said Marco, truly impressed.

"Well, let's not celebrate it yet, we still have the boss skeleton to beat!" said Bloom.

"Well, what is he going to do? We beat his army!" said Mirta.

Gaul laughed at the half fairy's comment.

"If you slay my minions, I'll just make more," and snapped his fingers. More skeletons emerged from the mud.

"Damn!" cursed Stella. "What are we going to do?"

"Gaul is the summoner, so we have to focus on him," said Tecna. "If we beat him, his army will vanish. Remember the Army of Decay."

"Yes, but who's going to distract the skeletons?" asked Layla.

"I guess that the answer is obvious," said Nabu.

"Yes, the skeletons will have to go through us first," said Marco, facing the second horde of undead.

"Now I remember, the undead are weak to light and heat," said Mirta. "That lich can't be an exception. Stella and Bloom would harm him more than any of us."

"Come on, Stella, let's go!" said Bloom.

"Attack right after us! We will be the diversion!" said Tecna.

Tecna, Musa, Flora and Mirta fired their strongest attacks at Gaul, forcing him to move. The lich elevated in mid-air, hovering over them.

"I'm starting to lose my patience!" The lich summoned a purple ball between his hands. "Scream of Pain!"

A purple beam came from the ball, and divided in many smaller beams. Musa and Tecna prepared the defense.

"Convergence: Digital Barrier!"

Spherical, glowing sheet music surrounded the Winx girls, protecting them from the lich's attack. When the beams impacted the shield let out shrieks of terror that could freeze anybody's heart.

"Bloom, Stella, now!" said Tecna.

The two fairies prepared their attack: "Convergence: Dragon Solar Fury!"

Bloom and Stella released a dragon-shaped golden beam of energy surrounded by red flames at the lich. Gaul tried to protect himself with a barrier, but as Mirta predicted, he couldn't bear the intense light and heat of the attack, and took it in full force. The resulting explosion smashed him against a wall.

The undead warriors suddenly fell to pieces, and the swamp began to disappear. Gaul stood on his feet again, and levitated.

"That. Was. _Unpleasant_."

"This pile of bones has more resistance than expected," said Musa. "But we can't waste more time here. I hear more people on the floor above us. They're looking for something."

"Yes, some of us should stay here and fight him, while the rest look for the rest of his group," said Nabu. "I'll stay here."

"Me too," said Layla.

"My powers are the most effective against undead, so I should stay as well," said Stella.

"You'll need some muscle to fight his minions," said Marco.

"Okay, good luck, and be careful!" said Bloom while she and the others flew away from the battlefield.

…

Meanwhile, in the Vault of Treasures, Neyra and Mirage were walking through the maze of piled crates. Said crates had many powerful weapons, but they weren't what the pair was looking for.

"Nothing?" asked Mirage.

"This damn thing doesn't react," said Neyra, looking at the black crystal in the jar.

"Maybe it isn't here and-" Mirage suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?" asked Neyra.

"I got a message from Gaul," said Mirage, and a smile appeared in her face. "We're going to have our revenge after all."

...

**Auhtor's Note**:I hope that you enjoyed this action packed chapter. And we finally got to see Gaul!By the way, it may appear that Gaul is a weakling, but I want you to keep in mind that he's much stronger than what he appears to be. The action will continue in the next chapter. Reviews are welcomed.


	10. The Darkness Within

**Chapter 10: The Darkness Within**

**Author's note: First of all, sorry for the long wait. Here is the conclusion of the battle of the forge. As anybody would expect, this chapter is also very action packed. Enjoy.**

The remaining fairies arrived at the Vault of Treasures, where Neyra and Mirage were already waiting for them. The five fairies landed in front of the two witches.

"Look who's here, Mirage," said Neyra. "A bunch of fairies who don't value their lives."

"Did you forget already how I beat you in Danpal?" asked Mirage. "Well, I wouldn't care to refresh your memory."

"Well, if I remember correctly, it was you who got beaten," said Musa, making the psychic witch to growl in anger.

"Maybe you beat us before," said Neyra, before Mirage could said something in response. "However, we were alone. Let's see how do you do against us when we are together!"

Neyra took a step forward, ready to start the combat. She summoned two fireballs in her hands, and motioned her arms like a whirlwind.

"Fire Vortex!" yelled Neyra, and a powerful flaming twister came out of her hand, .

The five fairies scattered to avoid the attack, but Neyra continued channeling it. Apparently she set Aisha as her first victim, since she moved the fire tornado towards the princess of Andros. Musa cast some soundwaves at the flaming attack, but it had no effect.

"Some help over here!" said Musa, still fleeing from the fire.

"Hold on, Musa, I'll try something!" said Bloom, coming near the tornado.

Bloom's vial of fairy dust glowed intensely, and it suddenly began to absorb the fire, until Neyra's attack was completely nullified.

"That was close," said Musa, gasping for air. "Thanks a lot, Bloom."

"No problem," said Bloom.

"Very smart," said Mirage. "Let's see if you can absorb this!"

Mirage then levitated several crates, which began to spin around her. She then motioned her arms forward, and the crates flew at the Winx like an avalanche. However, Musa took a step forwards, ready to counter the attack.

"Double Sonic Boom!" shouted Musa, while she cast waves of sound from her hands, which not only stopped the crates, but also blew them up. Wood pieces and the artifacts contained in the crates were scattered around the room.

"Come on, girls, is our turn to attack!" said Mirta. She held up her hands, and a red glow surrounded them. "Crimson Flare Blitz!"

"Mirta, wait!" said Flora, but it was too late.

Mirta fired an array of red energy bolts at Mirage, however, the Psychic witch was able to dodge them easily, much to the half fairy's shock.

"Pathetic," said Mirage. "Although what could I expect from a witch-turned fairy?"

Mirta was even more shocked. How did she knew that?

In less than a second, Mirta saw Mirage floating in front of her, smiling with malice. A dark blue sphere of energy formed between her hands, and cast it at the bemused fairy, knocking her down.

"Mirta!" yelled Flora, coming to her aid.

The half fairy was hurt, but she could stood up but herself.

"What happened?" asked Mirta.

"I tried to tell you. She can read minds, and predict any of our moves. You can't beat her in a on-on-one," explained Flora.

"Tell me, Mirta, does it hurt? Because that's nothing compared with all the pain I can inflict," said Mirage coldly. The psychic witch held her arms, and suddenly, Mirta and Flora found themselves unable to move.

Meanwhile, Bloom and Musa were dealing with Neyra. Without any one liner, Neyra summoned several fireballs around her body, and threw them at the two fairies. However, this time Musa was prepared, and raised a sound shield that protected both herself and Bloom. However, the shield, instead of absorbing the damage from the fireballs, threw them back at their caster. Neyra disappeared in a blink, and the returning fireballs hit more crates.

"Damn, where did she go?" asked Bloom.

"Calm down, I still hear her breathing. She has to be here," deduced Musa.

"I'm closer than you think!" came Neyra's voice.

Bloom and Musa saw Neyra floating above them, who was channeling a huge fireball between her hands. She then tossed it at the two fairies.

Bloom and Musa were quick enough to dodge the fireball, and it hit the floor like a meteor. The consequent explosion knocked back the two fairies in opposite directions. Neyra flew towards Musa and cast more fireballs at her. Musa protected herself with an energy shield.

"Why are you going so hellbent on me?" asked Musa, who just noticed that Neyra was focusing on her much more than Bloom.

"Oh, it' nothing personal, really. Just my fighting style," said Neyra. "I always go first for the weakest opponent."

"Weakest!" said Musa, truly outraged. "Let me show you how 'weak' I am!"

In less than a second Musa's energy bubble suddenly expanded in size, pushing Neyra back. Then, the shield shrunk again, and concentrated in Musa's hand, forming an energy bubble.

"Amplified Sonic Blast!" said Musa, throwing the ball at the witch.

Neyra rose a shield to block the attack, but when Musa's attack hit the shield, it exploded, releasing screeching sonic waves. Neyra lost concentration, and tried to cover her ears. She didn't saw an incoming fireball that knocked her against a pile of crates.

"Did you forget about me already?" asked Bloom.

"Great job, Bloom," praised Musa, and she and Bloom high fived.

"Well, you did most of the work,"said Bloom.

Back to Flora and Mirta, they were immobilized in the air by Mirage's psychic powers. A dark blue glow surrounded her whole body. She was channeling a spell powerful enough to kill them in one blow.

"Any last words?" said Mirage mockingly.

Suddenly, Mirage was struck by a green electric beam. Flora and Mirta felt that they were released from the psychic force that was holding them immobile. Tecna flew towards them.

"Are you okay?" asked Tecna.

"Yes," said Flora.

"I thought that this was the end," said Mirta. "Thank goodness that you appeared."

"Don't celebrate it yet," said Tecna. "That witch is all but defeated."

Mirage rose to her feet. How didn't saw that attack coming? Were her powers failing her? No, that couldn't be possible. She looked at the pink haired fairy, and tried to dive in her mind. But the impossible happened.

"Interesting," said Mirage, who was more amused rather than angry at her discovery. "I can't read your mind. It never happened before. You must have a very powerful mind."

"You can bet on it," said Tecna. "My brain is my best attribute."

"Oh, don't get so cocky," said Mirage, placing her hands on her hips. "There's no mind I cannot rip. Yours will take more time and effort. Besides, I don't need to read any mind to defeat a trio of sad little fairies!"

Mirage decided to cast the same spell she was about to unleash before Tecna joined the fight. Her body began to glow dark blue.

"SHADOW NOVA!" yelled Mirage.

Mirage cast a dark energy pulse at the fairies. Tecna and Flora rose shields for protection, and Mirage's attack created a huge explosion upon contact. When the smoke dissipated, the fairies were gone. However, she knew that they were still alive, since she still sensed them. Two seconds later, she found them, flying above her.

"There you are!" said Mirage, casting another dark beam. However, the beam went through Tecna's body. "What the hell? An illusion?"

"Not exactly. An hologram," came Tecna's voice.

"Huh?"

Mirage then saw multiple roots growing and wrapping around her body, rendering her immobile.

"Okay, is all yours, girls," said Flora. Tecna and Mirta were ready to end the fight.

"Electric Storm!" shouted Tecna, releasing a wave of green lightning.

"Crimson beam!" said Mirta, casting her signature attack.

Both spells hit Mirage, knocking her against the crates, breaking them in the process. Mirage also dropped the jar with the small piece of crystal in it, and it shattered against the ground.

"NO!" yelled Mirage. Now Gaul was going to be really angry. The crystal couldn't be in the open for a long time. "Look what you did! You ruined everything!" Mirage was in the verge of crying.

Bloom and Musa joined with Tecna, Mirta and Flora.

"Okay, I think that fight is over," Bloom declared. "The Forge is ours."

"We have to go back and see if..." was about to say Tecna.

However, something happened that Mirage did not expect. The crystal rose in mid air, and began to glow. Then, it moved towards a pile of broken crates and artifacts. Mirage used her telekinesis to scatter the pile, until she saw what she and her sister were looking for: a flat octagon shaped black gemstone. The gemstone was broken, since it missed a small piece. The piece that was floating and glowing in front of it. The gemstone glowed as well in response, and the missing piece rejoined the gemstone, completing it.

The fairies came closer to see what did drag Mirage's attention.

"What's that?"asked Musa.

"This..." said Mirage, summoning the gem with her telekinesis. "...IS YOUR DOOM!"

Mirage used the gem to project a shadowy wave at the fairies, that were completely off guard. They fell to the floor, totally powerless, and severely weakened.

"My powers...I'm losing them..." whispered Bloom.

"I can't even move..." said Tecna.

"Why is so cold...?" asked Flora, rubbing herself.

Yes, all of them felt cold, extremely tired and injured. All except Mirta. She was in a lot of pain too, but she was hot. Very hot. Like her blood was boiling. Full of hate and miserable thoughts began to fill her head. The last thing she heard before losing her consciousness was a loud beep...

…

Back in the entrance, Sky, Brandon Riven and Helia were still fighting Kharel. All of them were exhausted. The combat was lasting more than any of them would expect, since it was a four-on-one. However, Kharel was showing signs of exhausting as well. Suddenly, the four specialists felt a chill sensation running down their spine.

"What the hell was that?" asked Brandon.

"Did you feel it too?" asked Riven.

"Whatever it was, I don't think it was good," guessed Helia.

"You guess right," said Kharel. "Because that surge of cold you just felt means that my comrades found what we were looking for,"

"Wait, I thought that you came here to take the forge," said Sky.

"Yes, that was part of our plans too, but there's a powerful item here our master wants. And since we already found it, you've already lost. Your little fairy girlfriends are pretty much dead now."

"What!" said Riven.

"You're lying!" said Sky.

"There's a way to know it," said Helia, pulling out his badge. "Flora, this is Helia, do you hear me?"

But there was no response. The other three specialists did the same.

"Bloom! Answer me!" said Sky.

"Musa! Come on Musa, you have to be alive!" said Riven, as desperate as Sky.

"Stella, are you there?" said Brandon.

"Brandon, what do you want?" Stella finally replied. Brandon sighed in relief. "I'm a bit busy right now!"

"Stella, are you okay?" asked Brandon. Riven then snatched Brandon's badge from his hands. "Hey!"

"Stella, is Musa with you?" asked Riven.

"No, we split up," said Stella. "I'm here with Aisha, Nabu and that new guy, Marco. Did something bad happened to them?"

Sky, Riven and Helia felt their hearts to stop.

"Well, guess that some of your friends did survive," said Kharel with a shrug.

Riven's breath has heavy. He gripped his phantoblade firmly, looked at Kharel with hateful eyes, and let out a terrifying scream. The maroon haired specialist charged at the red knight, who saw himself trapped in a storm of swipes that he was barely able to block. Sky and Helia joined Riven as well, since they could only think in their dead girlfriends.

That was a bad move. Kharel was now overwhelmed.

…

Stella and Aisha dodged the lethal arrows the skeletal bowmen fired, while Nabu and Marco dealed with the skeletal warriors.

"No matter how many of my minions you kill, I will summon more," said Gaul, while firing a bolt of energy. "And eventually you'll run out of energy, while my undead army never gets tired."

"Guys, we can't stay like this forever!" said Nabu.

"I know," said Aisha. "But what can we do?"

"Hey, why do you hide behind your skeletons? Are you afraid of fighting us yourself?" taunted Stella.

"Nice try, but useless," said Gaul. "Maybe that childish provocation had the desired effect on your former enemies, but you won't win this fight with words."

"Okay, then if you don't come here to fight me, I'll fight you instead!" said Stella, before recklessly diving at the Lich.

"STELLA, WATCH OUT!" yelled Aisha.

A volley of arrows flew at Stella, and if a pink shield didn't surrounded her in time, she'll be dead right now.

"Dear Solaria..." said Stella in shock.

"Stella, you have to be more careful!" said Aisha. "This guy isn't like the Trix! He's smart!"

"Listen to your friend, fairy of the sun," said Gaul.

Suddenly, they shivered for no reason.

"Hey, what was that?" asked Aisha.

"I don't know...it felt like a dark pulse..." said Marco.

"Oh, so Neyra and Mirage were successful," said Gaul, not changing the tone of his voice.

"Successful? What do you mean?" asked Stella.

"There's no need to explain anything at this point," said Gaul. "Your deaths will complete the mission."

A dark purple glow surrounded Gaul's hands, and cast a powerful beam of energy at the flying fairies. Aisha and Stella dodged the attack. Gaul continued casting beams of energy.

"Aisha, Stella, get behind me!" said Nabu. Stella and Aisha did so.

"I see that you're a true gentleman, offering yourself to protect the ladies,"said Gaul. "But I see that you're a total fool as well. You're only denying the inevitable. But if you want to die first, I won't deny such a petition."

Gaul cast another shadowy beam at Nabu. However, Gaul didn't foresee that the wizard had a hidden ace up his sleeve.

"Stasis Field!" yelled the wizard.

Right after the lich fired his attack, Nabu summoned a transparent energy bubble. When the beam hit the bubble, the bubble began to grow. The more time Gaul channeled his beam, the bigger the bubble grew. When Gaul realized that said bubble was accumulating the energy of his own attack, it was too late.

Nabu motioned his hands in a circle, and the bubble fired the dark beam back at the surprised lich, who was hit by his own attack. However, he wasn't too injured, since it was his own energy after all. But that wasn't the only thing the lich didn't foresee.

Taking advantage of the situation, Aisha dived at the lich, but instead of using a spell, she punched him in the face him once she was close enough. Aisha continued to punch him repeatedly, and finished her combo with a roundhouse kick, knocking the lich back.

"You're a pretty good sorcerer, and know a lot about magic," said Aisha. "That's why we had such a hard time against you. But you're a total pushover in close combat."

"Maybe, but a good fighter knows how to make up for his weaknesses," said Gaul, as he stood up, and got ready for another spell. However, instead of a single, beam, decided to cast multiple beams like he did before.

Stella's badge began to beep. The blonde grunted in annoyance. He activated it, and saw Brandon's image.

"Stella, are you there?" said Brandon.

"Brandon, what do you want?" Stella finally replied. "I'm a bit busy right now!"

"Stella, are you okay?" asked Brandon. "Hey!"

Brandon's image was replace with Riven's.

"Stella, is Musa with you?" asked Riven.

"No, we split up," said Stella. "I'm here with Aisha, Nabu and that new guy, Marco. Did something bad happened to them?"

But there was no answer. Stella began to worry for Bloom and the others.

…

"We find the Heart, take the Forge, and wipe out the Winx brats," said Neyra. "Hack trick!"

"They don't look so mighty right know, do they?" mocked Mirage.

"Shall we put them out of their misery?" asked Neyra.

"Sure, why not," shrugged Mirage.

The witches were about to kill the fairies, but Mirage suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, sis?" asked Neyra.

"That fairy," said Mirage, pointing at Mirta. "My attack didn't hurt her!"

"What?"

"In fact...it made her stronger!"

"But...that's impossible!" said Neyra, unwilling to believe her sister's words.

However, she was forced to believe, since she also felt Mirta's dark energy. It was _huge_.

Mirta slowly rose on her feet. Her face was completely emotionless. A black aura surrounded her body. Her eyes glowed an eerie yellow.

The terrified Neyra cast a fireball at Mirta, but the half fairy simply parried it with a hand motion. Neyra fired more fireballs, but Mirta blocked them effortlessly. Then, the two witches saw a reddish blur of motion, and Mirta was between them. The redhead fairy cast two red beams of energy at each witch, knocking them apart. The other fairies didn't know what was going on, only that Mirta was kicking the witches' ass. Bloom took advantage of the situation, and started healing herself and the others.

"Neyra, she's too powerful!" said Mirage. "I'll call Gaul! We have to leave!"

…

While Gaul was still fighting against the two fairies, the wizard and the paladin, he began to hear Mirage's voice in his head.

"_Gaul, we have the item! Now get us the hell out of here!"_ said Mirage's voice.

"_Wait, what was going on?"_ asked Gaul. _"If you found the item, you should be able to beat those puny fairies!"_

"_There has been some complications! Now take us out of here! We can't hold her any longer!"_

It was then when Gaul realized a powerful focus of dark energy, and it wasn't neither of his pupils. He didn't understand what was going on. But Mirage said that they had the item, so at least they wouldn't leave the forge empty handed.

Gaul teleported himself, Kharel, Mirage and Neyra out of the Forge.

…

Bloom and the other Winx in the vault saw how Mirta beat the witches back into retreat. Now that Bloom had healed them, they felt a bit better, at least they could stand up.

"Wow Mirta, that was AWESOME!" said Musa, out of joy.

"Yeah, I didn't know that you were so powerful!" said Tecna.

Flora then noticed that Mirta didn't answer.

"Mirta, are you okay?" asked Flora.

A red glow surrounded Mirta's hands...


	11. A Hard Recovery

**Chapter 11: A Hard Recovery**

**Author's note: Special thanks to Robert Teague, my new betareader.**

"Mirta, are you okay?" asked Flora.

But Mirta didn't answer. She only looked at them with her glowing eyes and face lacking any emotion while a red glow surrounded her hands. She positioned herself and was ready to attack.

"Mirta, what's going on?" asked Bloom, coming closer to Mirta.

The fairy of the Dragon Fire was silenced by a powerful bolt of energy fired by the hybrid fairy.

"Bloom!" said Musa in horror. "Mirta, what are you doing?"

Mirta attacked again. This time her attack didn't harm anybody, since Musa protected herself and the group. Mirta, however, kept firing powerful beams at them.

"Mirta, stop!" begged Flora. "We're your friends, remember?"

"Don't waste your breath, Flora," said Tecna. "It's obvious that she won't listen." She pulled out her scanner and activated it.

"What happened to her?" asked Bloom. "Why is she attacking us?"

"And why is she so damn powerful!" asked Musa, still holding her shield against the crazed Mirta.

"Scanning complete," said Tecna. "Just like I feared. Mirta's level of dark magic shot up dramatically from her usual level, and it's still growing. This sudden increase may have affected her mind and soul."

"Okay, so what can we do?" asked Bloom.

"We can't fight her," said Flora. "She's still our friend and we could harm her."

"Harm HER!" asked Musa. "That's what you're worried about?"

"We're too weakened," said Bloom. "She'd beat us in a blink."

"We should try to immobilize her first," said Tecna.

"Leave it to me," said Flora, taking a step forward. "Green Luxurious Ivy!"

Many ivy plants grew instantly from the ground and tied Mirta up. The half fairy squirmed, trying to break free.

"Okay, that will hold her for a bit," said Flora. "Anybody have a more permanent solution?"

"Well, if the problem is that Mirta's darkness is overwhelming her, she'll return to normal if that darkness is reduced," deduced Bloom. "And I guess that it won't decrease by itself so we'll have to use our fairy dust on her."

"Well, it's worth trying," said Musa.

"We'd better do it now; the ivy won't hold her much longer!" said Flora.

The four fairies flew above Mirta and circled her.

"Okay, let's do it!" said Bloom.

"Convergence: Fairy Dust Ring!" said the four girls in unison while pouring the fairy dust on their corrupted friend.

Mirta let out an ungodly scream when the dust touched her, so loud that it almost rendered the Winx completely deaf. Flora unsummoned the ivy that was holding her, but Mirta didn't try to attack them. She fell down on the floor and began to writhe in agony. It was such a horrible image that none of them would ever forget it.

"It's working!" said Tecna, checking the scanner,. "Her dark energy level is shrinking!"

Some moments later, Mirta stopped writhing, returned to her civilian outfit, and fell unconscious. They descended, and Tecna checked her.

"Is she okay?" asked a worried Flora.

"Yes," said Tecna. "But she's very exhausted. Bloom, heal her please."

Bloom did so.

…

In the aftermath of the battle, the three groups reunited. Sky, Riven and Helia rushed to hug their girlfriends upon seeing them, grateful that they were alive. Mirta's unconscious body, carried by a levitation spell, didn't go unnoticed either. Bloom assured them that she was okay, only very tired. They took her to the infirmary of the _Prometheus._

They reported their success to Faragonda. The headmistress told them to stay there until the Magix Council decided what to do with the Forge. The fact that they would be staying there for almost for a week wasn't welcomed by anybody. They spent the next two days resting, and the fairies who were exposed to the black gemstone were checked intensively.

Tecna was the only one pleased with the idea of staying in the Forge for some days, although she was rather irritated that she had to stay in the sick ward. But finally all the tests said that she was very healthy.

She was afraid that, once their mission was over, they'd take the Forge away from her. But now she had the chance to take a better look at such a technological marvel. In fact, she had felt flustered since the first time she saw the magnificent building, even if it was from the ship's window. And now she felt like a little kid who was about to visit an amusement park for the first time.

However, she couldn't see what the Forge was able to do if she didn't find and activate its power source first.

…

In the _Prometheus' _sick ward, Mirta was lying in bed, still unconscious. Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa and Aisha were in the room as well.

"How is she?" asked Aisha.

"She's okay," said Flora. "Tecna and I checked her, and her dark magic levels are back to normal."

"I know it's not okay to say this," Musa began. "But it's good luck that Mirta went berserk on those two witches, otherwise we would be dead right now."

"That gemstone," said Bloom. "It drained our powers and turned Mirta mad. And they were looking for it. "

"Wait, you said that the gemstone weakened you, but made Mirta much stronger. How can that be?" asked Stella.

"Mirta is still half witch," said Flora. "Maybe that part absorbed the attack."

"There's still the question of what's going to happen now," said Bloom. "We have the Forge, but now those guys have a weapon that can leave us powerless."

"Not just us," said Aisha. "Practically every fairy. Remember what Gaul said? They planned to kill every fairy in the universe."

The thought made them shiver.

"You forget about the fact that it boosted Mirta, which mean that it can be use to increase one's dark power," said Musa. "It's a double-edged weapon that will cut us in half if we're not careful."

Mirta stirred in her bed, but didn't wake up.

"We should let her rest," said Flora. "And hope that dark pulse didn't leave any scars on her."

…

Tecna entered in the Power Core Room, in the middle of which a large engine-shaped dome rested. It had lots of buttons and levers. One of them would activate the Forge. She found it in no time, a huge lever with a POWER banner on it. Barely able to hold her enthusiasm, Tecna pulled the lever.

The enthusiasm was replaced by disappointment when nothing happened. It was then when she realized that the Forge had been abandoned for decades, and probably didn't have any source of energy. And that was a big problem. However, Tecna realized something that amazed her even more: despite being abandoned for years, the machinery didn't have any dust or rust. In fact, it looked like it was recently made. A machine whose engines would never succumb to the ravages of time, how was that even possible? The genius of the Master Craftsman knew no limits.

That lead Tecna to the conclusion that the Forge could still work.

"Geez, if I had the blueprints of this engine, I could figure a way to make it work," she said to herself. "Come on Tecna, you're smarter than this. Think! If I were the Craftsman, how would I build this?"

Then it hit her. It was so obvious, that she felt ashamed of not seeing it before.

Tecna transformed into her fairy form, and used her powers to connect herself with the huge engine. Once she did it, she began to transfer her own energy into it. The Power Core responded, and it suddenly began to generate energy by itself, no longer needing Tecna. The room was suddenly illuminated by lamps, and the loud noise of running engines filled the room.

Tecna couldn't feel any prouder. Losing no time, she headed for the High Sanctuary where most of the Forge's controls rested.

…

Musa was in her cabin, resting, when somebody knocked her door.

"Come in," Musa said.

The door opened, and Riven entered the room.

"Hey Musa, I..." Riven began.

"Listen, Riven," said Musa, interrupting her boyfriend, "If you ask me again how I am or how I feel, I swear that I'll break all your bones!"

"Okay, okay," said Riven, backing off. "I'm sorry. It's that... well, since you told me that those witches almost killed you..."

Musa sighed, and came close to Riven.

"Sorry, I shouldn't yell you," said Musa, regretfully. "I know that you care about me but you're taking this too far. I'm perfectly fine."

"I know that I can be annoying," said Riven. "But when that guy said you were dead... I felt the world tearing apart. I wouldn't know what to do if something bad ever happened to you..."

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to keep me barefoot and pregnant?" asked Musa, looking up at him.

"Of course not," said Riven.

"Then you should trust me," said Musa. "Like I trust you. And you don't even have magical powers to begin with."

"Well, our enemies got an artifact that kills fairies, not regular humans like me," said Riven. "All I'm saying is that from now on, you should be... a little more careful."

It seemed that Musa was about to yell again, but instead, she came even closer to Riven, and her expression suddenly softened.

"Riven, remember three years ago when Bloom was abducted by Darkar, and me and the other girls went to rescue her?" asked Musa. Riven nodded. "Remember what you told me before we went into Shadowhaunt?"

"I said," Riven began. "That I wanted you to tell me that you'll come back to me."

"And remember what I answered?" asked Musa. After some moments, Riven replied:

"That I didn't have to fear losing you. That you'll always come back to me," said Riven.

"And as of now, I've been loyal to my word, haven't I?" asked Musa, smiling.

"Musa..."

"Yes?"

Riven didn't say anything, and hugged Musa. Musa hugged him back.

"You'll never lose me, Riven," said Musa.

…

In the Omega Dimension, Gaul and his pupils were telling their master about the outcome of the mission.

"So we don't have the Forge?" asked the man in black.

"Those fairies were strong, master," said Gaul. "I'm ashamed, but I must admit that I underestimated them, even if I was aware of their power. But we recovered the Heart of Oblivion."

"A partial victory," said the man in black. "Still, you did a good job."

"A good job?" asked Gaul. "Neither my apprentices nor I were able to beat those fairies, and we lost the Forge to them."

"Don't feel ashamed, Gaul," said the man in black. "You're intelligent, cold and pragmatic, traits that I really appreciate. Unfortunately, that's not enough to beat a fairy. Fairies are usually very brave. They fear neither danger nor death. They rely on each other in combat, and they can make a formidable force that even the most powerful sorcerer would be unable to match."

"Then, what should we do next time we fight them, master?" asked Gaul.

"In order to beat a fairy, you have to break her will and her spirit. Drive fear and terror into their hearts. Make them doubt their strength. You'll need fear and intimidation on your side. Only then will you ensure victory."

Gaul made note of his master's words.

"But don't worry, the next time we engage those fairies, I myself will deal with them," the man in black concluded. "Mirage, find them."

"What about the Forge?" asked Neyra.

"The Forge can wait," stated the man in black. "First, I want to see if those fairies who killed Master Valtor are as powerful as you said."

**Author's note: I really liked this chapter. Even if the action is minimal, a lot of things happened. I really enjoyed writing the vilalins' part**. **They're starting to become my favorite thing of this story. **

**Thanks once again for all your reviews and comments. Please keep them up, I love hearing back from you guys.**


	12. Memories

**Chapter 12: Memories**

**Author's note: This episode is going to be a bit different from the rest. It will feature only Tecna and there's going to be no dialogue until the very end. Anyway, I really had fun writing this, so I hope you like it.  
**

Tecna was in the High Sanctuary, trying to figure out how the Forge worked. During her search, she found something rather interesting.

_Log of the First Master Craftsman._

It was a set of files with more than three thousand holographic recordings. Tecna clicked the first one, and a hologram of a man wearing a futuristic looking armored jumpsuit and a helmet that completely covered his head appeared. Tecna recognized him as the same guy whose statue crowned the Forge.

_Day 1_

_After months of hard work, the Forge is finally complete. Some of my apprentices still hold some doubts about this project, but soon I'll prove to them that it was worth it. _

_I chose an unnamed, uninhabited planet to set up the Forge. This way we don't have to pay taxes to any greedy king, and we're free to do what we please. The advantages of a place with no law._

_One of my students asked me why we couldn't build the Forge in a populated place such as a bandit colony or similar. I told him that I like to sleep soundly at night. Although I understand that they don't like to be isolated from civilization, all of us must make sacrifices for this project to succeed. This is the zenith of all our work._

_Hey, I think I'll name this planet Zenith._

_Day 4_

_Marla tested the Power Core, and said that there were some irregularities regarding the energy flow. Sometimes it's unstable. Hope I can fix it in time. If the word spreads, some of my apprentices may believe that this place is going to explode._

_Day 12_

_These days have been hard. The Forge had more errors in its software than we expected. Also, the materials weren't of the best quality. However, Kyros said that he had the solution. He asked me to see a project of his this night. It some kind of new alloy._

_The Power Core is still malfunctioning. We tried using all the fuels and sources of energies at our disposal to no avail. The chain reaction generator becomes too unstable. Again, I have to keep this a secret. Although this time I'm afraid that the Forge may actually blow up._

_I need a power source that doesn't overload the generator._

_Day 27_

_All the errors are finally fixed. We tested the machinery, and it worked as expected. We even forged our first magic-infused item and it was a total success. I'm really proud of my work and, of course, my apprentices. They finally trust me, and more important, they trust this marvelous project._

_Oh, and I must write this just in case: the power source that I spent days looking for was myself! The chain reaction generator generates energy on its own, but it needs a jump start. The generator overloaded rather quickly and was unable to stabilize the energy flow. However, if I pour my energy into the generator, I can sense exactly how much energy is enough for a jump start without the generator being overloaded._

_Still, I'm not going to remove all the failsafe devices and the emergency shutdown._

_Day 84_

_My apprentices and I have been waiting for this moment for what seems like forever: our first customer!_

_The customer is a prospector and owns a mining site, or that's what he told me. He asked me to build mining tools such as drills and hammers. Apparently his tools aren't hard enough to drill through a vein of adamantium. I'll put my boys and girls to work. In fact, Tosh came out with an interesting blueprint and I think that we could use Kyro's alloy._

_Speaking of which, although the alloy is brilliant, there's a problem: it needs dragon scales, which isn't something you can buy in a town market. It's very expensive, and rare. They aren't going to like it, but we have to raise the price of our products if we want to make some profit. Neither my apprentices nor I eat rocks._

_Day 116_

_Our first customer was very satisfied, despite that we charged him double the stipulated price. He said that he'll probably ask for more equipment, regardless of how much we charge him. Word of our success will spread, and soon we will have more customers than we can imagine. Although I can imagine lots of them._

_Day 172_

_As I predicted, we're overwhelmed with work. My apprentices are working like there's no tomorrow. They barely sleep. Some of them came to me, saying that they were exhausted and overworked, and asked if I could hire more people. Not as apprentices like them, but as workmen. I told them that I'd think about it tonight. Well, tonight is now, and I don't know what to do. Guess that I should do it. Those kids have done all that I asked, and work very hard for me. I think that they deserve some help._

_However, they will have to act as direct supervisors as well. The secrets of this place must not leave these walls._

_Day 191_

_We employed a group of about thirty people to work in the Forge. I thought that it would be enough, but I was wrong. We'll need to hire more people if we want to please our many customers. Hell, we don't even need to advertise any more. _

_They asked me where are they going to live, since I won't allow them to live in the Forge. And even if I did, there isn't enough room. Marla and Tosh offered to build some shacks before finding a more permanent solution. I don't think that they will be very happy with that, but they'll have to cope with it for the time being. _

_Day 384_

_Our staff has grown to almost two hundred workers, not counting my apprentices. In the meantime, we also had to hire even more people to build houses for the workers, but that wasn't a problem since money keeps flowing. This is starting to get out of control. When I said that I wanted to do something big, I didn't expect it to be _this_ big._

_Anyway, today we were contacted by somebody who asked for a shipment of magic-enhanced weapons. This is our first job involving war, and some of my students aren't too pleased with the idea. I understand their point of view; they don't want the Forge to be the reason for wars. We'll have to talk about it._

_Day 403_

_In the end we finally accepted the weapons deal. The customer, a high general of a Republic named Solaria has some troubles with a revolt or something. We weighed the situation, and thought that it was ethical to provide him with weapons since they were for a greater good._

_However, I feel regretful of my decision. I want to trust that general, but what if he was lying? I don't want to be naive and I don't want to become a warlord either. I'm afraid that other realms will ask for weapons as well. What should I do?_

_Day 521_

_One of my apprentices caught one of the workers trying to download the Forge's blueprints during the night. After I mentally scanned him, I found that he was a spy trying to unveil the secrets of this place. Tomorrow I'll subject all the staff to a mental scan, to see if they are spies as well._

_Tanya said that we need more security. She said that she could build some robots in no time, but even if it sounds ironic, I don't feel comfortable with the idea. Robots can be hacked. Tosh, on the other hand, suggested that we could hire mercenaries. I don't like people who fight for money, but I can't think of a better solution._

_Still, Tanya asked if she could build robots for other functions, such as heavy work. This way we could do without some workmen so I gave her permission. I already trust in people, now it's about time to trust in machines._

_Day 778_

_What initially was a shanty town surrounding the Forge eventually became a town, and then a city in a surprisingly short span of time. There aren't just houses but many other things as well, like markets, small hospitals, theaters, and even a school, since some of my employees have children . Of course, I should have seen this coming. Those workers and mercenaries need more than simple housing and food._

_This city is getting to be rather big, and grows each day._

_Day 925_

_As I feared, the demand for magical weapons is growing. I still feel bad about this, but I haven't heard any reports that war had started yet. My wife Selena said that I should trust in my judgment since I am, according to her, a wise man. Hopefully she is right._

_Wait, maybe those people who buy my weapons don't want to wage war against other realms, but to secure their power in their own realm. I recently got an invitation to the coronation of Starlon, King of Solaria. Wait, wasn't Solaria a republic?_

_Day 1108_

_Demands for weapons keep coming and coming. This can't be good. I have to do something about it, but what? I've already sold weapons to a lot of realms already. If I refuse to create weapons now, they may get the wrong idea._

_Marla says that man's greed is one of the most powerful forces in this universe, and maybe I can use that. If I raise the price of the weapons to a ridiculous degree, they may stop asking for them._

_Day 1357_

_The plan worked as I hoped. We still have a demand for weapons, but it's much, much lower, and the number of weapons ordered is very small. Besides, the extra cash is appreciated._

_Day 1567_

_Our observers tell me that other realms have started to colonize Zenith. They brought quite a few troops with them. I don't like it._

_Day 1772_

_The increasing military presence of other realms worries me. Tosh gave me the blueprints of a defensive system he and Kyros developed, since they're worried for the safety of the city. I gave them complete freedom to do what they think best. I don't have the strength to take this on myself._

_Selene said that we should stop hiring mercenaries and recruit an army. We have the weapons, but we lack manpower._

_Day 2065_

_It finally happened. The city of Zenith has been attacked. Fortunately, we were able to repel the attackers and the causalities aren't heavy. But how much time will pass before we're attacked again?_

_Zenith isn't safe anymore. What began as a colony of workers has bloomed into a prosperous city. I'm not responsible for this city, but I won't forgive myself if I let it be destroyed because of my creation. I also hear people talking about how this place should be closed for good, but I refuse. I still believe in the Forge's potential for good._

_I think that we should find another planet to set up the Forge. However, I'm afraid that, regardless of where I go, they'll find me and my precious creation._

_Day 2344_

_The plans for leaving Zenith have been delayed more than we expected, mostly due to the incessant skirmishes and the numerous errors of the Space Travel function. However, at this very moment, the Forge is leaving Zenith's atmosphere. I left Selena and my children on Zenith. It was the hardest decision in my life, but they will be better off without me. The city of Zenith was born because of the Forge, but they don't need us anymore. I'm sure they'll be fine._

_We had to fire all the staff. Tanya built a set of mechanical drones that will replace all the workmen that worked here during these past several years. Hopefully they won't malfunction._

_Loren is afraid that the robots may become aware of themselves and rebel against us, since he read a book in which something similar happened. It was called "Eliminator"._

_I'm going to confiscate that book for his own good._

_Day 2728_

_We found a new, uninhabited planet, and we're ready to land._

_Day 3006_

_God, I miss my family so much..._

_Day 3298_

_I'm tired. Too tired. My health deteriorated a lot in the last several months, and I'm afraid that so did my sanity. I have the feeling that I haven't made the best choices lately, and my students know this. If they remained silent it was probably due to our mutual respect. However, this crew needs a better captain. I'll have to think carefully and decide who will be the next Master Craftsman._

_Day 3400_

_All my students are sleeping. I've already made my choice. I recorded one final log, giving instructions to my apprentices about what to do, and choose a successor. Once I'm finished with this log, I'll leave the Forge and never come back. I can't believe that I'm abandoning the work of my entire life, but it's for the best._

_I wish to return to Zenith and be with my loving family, but I can't. Somebody could capture me and force me to unveil the secrets of forging magical artifacts, and experience has taught me that the world isn't prepared for them._

_Maybe sometime in the future the Forge will return to Zenith, where it belongs._

When the last recording ended, the hologram of the Craftsman disappeared, and Tecna saw a hotlink to the Craftsman's last will. She was about to click it, when suddenly her badge beeped.

"This is Tecna. What's going on?" asked Tecna. Sky's hologram appeared before her.

"We've got a transmission from Faragonda. She said that she had something very important to tell us, so come here immediately," said Sky. It almost sounded like an order.

Tecna growled in frustration, knowing the Craftsman's last will still waited. However, she realized that she could download the file to her badge and watch it later.


	13. Dissension

**Chapter 13: Dissension**

**Author's note: In this chapter, I'm going to try to bring some conflict between the winx that I think that the show lacks, and that it would spice some tings up. Hope you like it.**

Mirta then found herself in a bed. She didn't remember how she ended up there, nor did she recognize the room.

"Hey, you woke up!" said a known voice.

Mirta saw Flora sitting in a chair, and that she was reading a book before realizing the redhead was no longer unconscious.

"Oh, hi Flora..." said Mirta.

"How do you feel, sweetie?"

"Good...or I think so," said Mirta, scratching her head. "I just had the weirdest dream of my whole life."

"You know, we were quite worried," Flora began. "You spent the last two days unconscious."

"Really?" asked Mirta, her eyes wide open. "How? I mean...what happened? The last thing I remember was that we were fighting against those witches... they knocked me out, didn't they?"

Flora's expression darkened. Over the last two days she considered carefully if she should tell Mirta what really happened, or leave her blissfully ignorant. The truth could hurt her rather badly.

"Yeah, the psychic witch hit you in the head with a crate," said Flora. She didn't like to lie, but this time it was for the best.

"Did we win?" asked Mirta. Flora nodded in response.

Mirta let out a heavy sigh. "I knew it. I shouldn't have came here. I'm hindering you guys. I'm just a burden."

"Don't say that!" said Flora, angry at Mirta's self-deprecation, "You are NOT a burden, and neither I nor the rest of the girls think that! This kind of thing happens when you're in a fight. It could happen to anybody."

"Yes, but it happened to me," said Mirta.

Flora wished she could explain that, if it wasn't for her, she and the rest of the girls would be dead right now. But Mirta was taking the fact of being knocked out badly, and Flora didn't want to think how the half fairy would react if she knew that she almost killed her friends.

"Mirta, you're a strong fairy, much stronger than you think," said Flora. "And I'm not just talking combat-wise. Since I've known you, you've demonstrated you're a strong and resourceful girl with more determination than any other fairy, witch or specialist. What happened down there was just an accident, and you should leave it like that."

Mirta sported a shy smile. "Thank you Flora," she said, "You always know how to cheer somebody up."

"Besides, there might be a time in which I'll be in trouble and you'll have to save me," said Flora.

"Well, I hope not!" replied Mirta, and both girls laughed.

…

Flora entered the ship's living room. It was a large room with several couches, chairs, pillows, some bookshelves, a couple of computers, and a wide screen TV. It was, essentially, a place to relax. Timmy suggested building a room like this, since he felt that Tecna was too concerned with making the ship efficient, and a place to rest other than the cabins seemed a good idea.

All the girls sans Tecna were there.

"Mirta just woke up," said Flora. "She's okay, but I think that she should rest a bit more."

"Did you tell her what happened?" asked Bloom.

"No, I was afraid of her reaction," said Flora, still regretful about lying to her friend.

"I don't know what the big deal is," said Stella. "She saved you, right?"

"Okay, then," said Musa. "You just volunteered to tell Mirta that she turned into some sort of monster of darkness who almost killed us."

"On second thought, I think it was a wise decision," rectified Stella, quickly.

"By the way, I've been thinking... maybe we should send Mirta back to Magix," said Bloom.

"Why? Flora said she's okay," said Aisha. "I know that she isn't the finest fighter, but cut her some slack."

"I didn't mean that. I think that Mirta could be dangerous. We will be better off without her," Bloom explained.

Flora's eyes grew wide.

"What?" asked Flora. "How can you say that?" she didn't expect to hear such a thing from Bloom.

"Flora, you were there with me!" said Bloom. "Mirta almost killed us!"

"But it was because she was affected by that gemstone's energy!" replied Flora.

"So what if it happens again?" asked Bloom. "Remember that those guys took the gemstone with them. It could happen the next time we face them."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" said Flora. "Especially from _you_, Bloom!"

"What does that mean?" asked the much outraged Bloom.

"Did you already forget about our sophomore year when Darkar put you under his control and you almost killed us, not just once but _twice_?" asked Flora, who was starting to yell. None of the girls could ever recall Flora becaming so angry in the past. "Did we kick you out of the group? No! We stuck with you and tried to help you!"

Before Bloom could reply, Musa stood up and decided to put an end to the discussion, since she didn't like the way it was going.

"Okay, enough!" shouted Musa. "We will decide what to do with Mirta when we've calmed down. Besides, she doesn't even know what she did."

The automatic doors of the room hissed open, and Riven entered the room.

"Hey, we heard some yelling," said Riven. "Everything's okay?"

"Yes, Riven," replied Musa. "We had a... brief discussion, but now it's over."

Riven knew that Musa was sugar coating whatever happened, but he decided not to ask again.

"By the way, you should all come to the bridge. We got a message from Faragonda."

"All right, we'll be there shortly."

Minutes later, everybody sans Mirta were gathered on the bridge in front of the holograms of Faragonda and Griffin.

"So, what's up, Ms F? Any news?" asked Stella.

"Indeed," the Headmistress replied. "The Magix Council has decided what to do with the Forge. King Oritel and Queen Miriam offered to keep it on Domino for a time, and the decision was well received."

"So how much more time are we going to spend here?" asked Brandon, who really wanted to go back home.

"Two more days," said Faragonda. "Hagen, accompanied by some of Domino's soldiers, will be there in two days and will take charge of the Forge. You don't have to worry about them, Hagen already know how the Forge works."

"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Musa.

"Considering what you've done, I'll suggest you take some time to rest," Faragonda said. "You all deserve it."

"I don't think you'll have much time to rest," interjected Griffin. "Since it's more than probable that you'll have to face the goons you fought before again. In fact, Lucy already found some info on them."

Four small holograms of Gaul, Kharel, Neyra and Mirage appeared before them.

"This guy is Gaul. He was the leader of the group until they thawed the Man in Black," said Griffin. "He is a former member of the Coven. He tried to restart the Coven ten years ago but had no success due to the many internal conflicts. As you probably saw, he's a skilled necromancer."

"He's actually a lich," corrected Nabu. Griffin gasped.

"A lich you said?" asked Griffin, shocked. "Then that explains... a lot of things..."

"What about the other three?" asked Bloom.

"The Knight's name is Kharel," said Griffin. "He's a native of Andros and the son of a wizard and a fairy, which were famous for their impressive magic skills. One day, his parents were found dead and he was missing. The authories suspect that he killed them. Some time later, he joined the Coven. He has a long criminal record."

Aisha felt repulsed to share her homeworld with such a monster.

"The two girls Neyra and Mirage, on the other had, don't have any record," said Griffin. "Lucy discovered that their parents were part of the Coven, and they were among the kids that Gaul planned to train in order to reconstruct it. "

"Ten years ago we raided their base of operations and rescued the children," said Faragonda. "However, later investigation discovered that we didn't rescue all the kids and some of them went missing. We wanted to find them, but we lacked the time and resources to do so. Although maybe we should had done it, given the circumstances."

Griffin thought that it was better not to tell them that the Trix were among those missing children that they didn't track down.

"So, that's it?" asked Sky. "Our mission is complete?"

"For the time being, yes," said Faragonda.

"But remember that we have a bunch of lunatics loose in the universe who are in possession of a very catastrophic artifact, so be careful," added Griffin.

"Don't worry, we will," said Sky, ending the communication.

…

Mirta was still in the sick ward, bored as hell. She heard the girls shouting about something. It was something weird, since she knew they rarely, if ever, raised their voices. Suddenly, the doors hissed open, and she saw Marco enter the room. The paladin sat in a nearby chair.

"Hey," said Mirta, happy to have some company at last, "What's going on?"

"We will be leaving soon," said Marco. "They already decided what to do with this place."

"I see," said Mirta.

"So, how are you?" asked Marco.

"Much better now," said Mirta. "Too bad that I was the only one knocked out."

"You shouldn't be ashamed about that," said Marco. "As my grandfather always says, defeat is not a reason to feel ashamed as long as your spirit remains unconquered."

"How poetical."

"What I'm trying to say is that, if you fail, you shouldn't mourn nor feel bad for it, simply try not to fail the next time. Mourning doesn't solve anything. Actions do."

"I see," said Mirta. "You know, I... I am strong. Or that's what I like to think. But the Winx are at a much higher level than mine. And sometimes I feel that I'm a dead weight..."

"You should stop underestimating yourself, " replied Marco. "I saw you in action, and even if it was for a short time, your abilities are impressive. Besides, if you think like that all the time, you won't be able to improve."

There was a moment of silence.

"So... what are you going to do now?" asked Mirta.

"I haven't thought about it yet," was Marco's reply. "Guess I should head back home."

"Oh... I hoped that you could stay with us a bit longer,"said Mirta, not hiding her disappointment.

"I can," said Marco. "I spoke with my mother, and she gave me freedom to do what I wanted as a reward for my 'job well done', even if most of the merit is yours. However, I thought that maybe you weren't comfortable if I stuck around."

"Oh, don't say that! Everybody thinks that you're very nice," said Mirta. "And they'll love it if you stay here longer."

"Okay, you convinced me," said Marco. "Besides, I've had an interesting time with you guys."

Mirta smiled happily. Marco stood up, ready to leave.

"Can you ask how much longer I'm going to be here?" asked Mirta. "It's pretty boring."

"Sure," replied the paladin.

"Oh, and..." Mirta began again. "When we have some time again... would you like to go to eat, or go to watch a movie or something? I... I really enjoyed our last date."

Wait, did she said date?

"Of course," said Marco. "I like being with you."

**Author's note: I hope that Bloom and Flora weren't too out of character, but I wanted to try something new. Bloom is far from being my favorite character. She can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, and I wanted to show that. But don't worry, Bloom fans, I won't turn her into a bitch. When I write for a character that I don't like, I usually try to improve them through some character development.**

**And Flora...well, she never seems to get angry over anything, and I thought that she'll be more deep and human-like if she sometimes expressed what piss her off.**

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this short chapter, and keep reading and reviewing, it really helps my writing.**


	14. Of Bonds And Secrets

**Chapter 14: Of Bonds and Secrets**

In the cold depths of the Omega Dimension, Gaul was studying a thick book. It was about necromancy, as anybody would expect. However, it wasn't just a book about necromancy. He had had to go through hell and back, almost literally, to get it.

But it had been worth it. He had been able to transform into a lich, becoming immortal and much more powerful than before. However, that was only the tip of the iceberg. Its pages held the darkest secrets of necromancy, powerful spells and recipes for potions. The more he learned from that book, the stronger he would become.

Besides, even if his enemies destroyed him, he could reincarnate in a new body. The only way to kill him permanently was by destroying the lich's essence. And Gaul made sure that his essence was well guarded and safe.

"Gaul," said a voice.

Gaul turned around, and saw his master, the Man in Black, looking at him through the silver mask.

"Oh, master," said Gaul, closing the book. "What is thy bidding?"

"Mirage located our foes on Eraklyon," announced the masked man. "We will leave this place soon."

"I see," he nodded.

A moment of silence.

"Gaul, how's that 'Ultimate Spell' you've been working on? Is it ready yet?" asked the Master.

"I'm afraid to say that no, it's not," Gaul replied unequivocally. "Although my progress in the last few months has been satisfactory and it should be ready soon."

"I just hope that all the time and effort you've been investing pays off," said the man in black.

"My thoughts are the same, milord," said Gaul. "Now, if you excuse me, I'll inform my pupils of the news."

Minutes later, Gaul found his three apprentices, all of them wearing thick coats, talking with each other.

"Listen to me, kids," said Gaul. "We're moving."

"Finally!" said Mirage, raising her hands. "I'm tired of hiding in this frozen sewer!"

"Where are we going?" asked Kharel.

"Eraklyon," said Gaul. "The Master wants to deal with those fairies in person. He also has some plan that he hasn't shared with us yet."

"Excellent," said Neyra. "After the Forge fiasco, I want some payback."

"I'm glad that you mentioned that, dear Neyra," said the lich. "Since there has been something that has been bugging me."

The lich came closer to the two sisters, casting a menacing, hollow glare over them.

"You two are going to tell me what happened there, and in great detail. Now."

…

It's been a week since they left the Forge in Hagen's hands, thus completing their mission. Since they couldn't return to Alfea, Sky suggested going to Eraklyon and staying there for the time being so they could rest and plan their next step. Sky assigned everybody a room in the Royal Palace, his home, which was greatly appreciated since everybody was tired of living and sleeping in the _Prometheus_.

Mirta was on one of the balconies, admiring the breathtaking landscape that surrounded the palace.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked a female voice. Mirta quickly turned around, and saw Stella standing there.

"Indeed," was Mirta's reply, turning back.

"First time here?" asked the blond, coming up beside her.

Mirta nodded in response.

"I remember the first time I visited Eraklyon," said Stella, leaning against the railing, "It was two, or maybe three years ago. Brandon's parents wanted to meet me."

"I just realized that you guys get to travel and see a lot of nice places," observed Mirta.

"Ha ha, true!" said Stella. "But if you like Eraklyon, wait till you see Solaria! It's like the most beautiful place in the universe, and I'm not saying that just because I'm its future queen."

"Don't worry, I believe you," chuckled Mirta.

"One day, you and your sweetheart should come for a visit," said Stella.

"Wait," said Mirta. "What do you mean by 'my sweetheart'?"asked Mirta, uneasy.

"Oh, you know perfectly well what I mean," said Stella, giving her a sly grin.

Mirta decided not to reply, and instead sighed heavily. Stella was somebody hard to understand, although Flora had already 'warned' about her. She didn't know why the blond was so interested in her possible relationship with the paladin. Maybe it was time to find out.

"Stella, can I ask you something?" asked Mirta.

"Sure, go ahead," was the reply.

"Why are you so interested in... hooking me up with Marco?" asked Mirta. "Don't get me wrong, I... appreciate your efforts, but..."

"Well, maybe because I can't stand to see good looking girls like you without a boyfriend. But I wouldn't pair you with the first guy I saw. There's a man suited perfectly for every girl."

"And Marco is my 'perfect man'?" asked Mirta, arms crossed.

"Of course! it's obvious that you two are meant for each other!" said Stella. "You only need a little push. I know that you probably are a bit mad at me now, but you'll thank me in the future."

Mirta didn't reply.

"By the way, Mirta, I just realized that I know very little about you," said Stella. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from a planet named Casyopea," answered Mirta. "And so is Lucy."

"Casyopea? I've never heard of it. But tell me more about it."

"There are very few fairies there, and lots of witches. My mother is one of them." Mirta began. "It's like eighty percent water, and most of the dry surface is covered by swamps and forests. But not the kind of forest you're used to seeing. Instead of trees, we have mushrooms. Huge mushrooms. And many of them shine at night like they were natural street lamps. They glow blue and green and sometimes yellow. It's really beautiful. There's also..."

"Mirta, you're not getting it," said Stella, with a bored expression. "When I told you to talk about your world, I didn't want you to tell me about trees or swamps, but about important stuff like, you know, malls, clothing stores, or boys!"

"Boys?" asked Mirta. "But don't you have a boyfriend already?"

"Hey, just because you're on diet, it doesn't mean that you can't take a look at the menu," said Stella with a wide grin. "By the way, who's the king?"

"We don't have a king," said Mirta. "Casyopea is ruled by a council of witches."

"No wonder I've never heard of the place," deduced Stella. "If it had a king, I'd probably know about him."

Stella then realized something. "Speaking of kings, I just remembered that Sky told us that we would have dinner with his parents. I hope you have something more... elegant then those gothic witch clothes."

"No, all the clothes I brought are similar to these," replied Mirta.

"Guess that there's only one thing we can do," said Stella in a serious tone. "Shopping!"

"What?" Mirta was surprised at the declaration.

"You'll need a proper dress. Come on! We have a lot of shops to hit!"

Stella grabbed Mirta by the arm and practically dragged her out of the room.

…

Riven was in his room, lying on the bed. Sky and Brandon had asked him if he wanted to spar with them, but he replied that he felt a bit tired. Sky left remarking that's why he would never be as good as him, but Riven knew perfectly well it was a taunt. However, Riven didn't turn down Sky's offer because of being tired, but for another reason. He pulled something out of his pocket, and looked at it closely.

It was a crystal sphere the size of a golf ball. It was usually transparent, but when he touched it, it immediately acquired many colors: pink, red, purple, magenta... those colors would form a whirlpool. Looking at them it was like looking at a miniature galaxy. It had a hypnotic effect on him.

Suddenly, the door opened. It was Musa. Riven quickly put the magic sphere back on his pocket.

"Hey, Riven, we're going to- wait," said Musa, suspicious. "What did you put in your pocket so quickly?"

Damn, she saw him.

"Nothing," replied Riven, trying to keep his cool.

"There's no point in lying, I saw you!" accused Musa. "What is it? Why did you hide it from me?"

"It's nothing important," said Riven.

"If it's nothing important, then you wouldn't mind if I see what it is," said Musa, and approached Riven.

"Musa, don't!"

But Riven knew better than anybody else that Musa was as stubborn as him. The Music Fairy then jumped on Riven, and they began to struggle.

"Musa, stop!" yelled the Specialist.

"Not until I know what you hid from me!" she replied, equally loud.

The crystal ball dropped from Riven's pocket to the floor, making a loud sound, but that didn't break it. Musa quickly leaned over and grabbed it.

"What's this? A marble?" said Musa, taking a closer look at the ball.

"Musa, give it to me," demanded Riven.

"Hey, what's going on?" said Musa, noticing the colors filling the ball's inside. "Wait... this is a magic item! Where did you find it?"

"That's none of your business," replied Riven

However, being the intelligent person Musa was, she found the answer rather quickly.

"You... took this from the Forge!" said Musa with an incredulous face.

It was some days ago, while they were inspecting the Forge. Tecna said that they could pick anything they wanted to look at, as long as they put it back. It was then when Riven saw the marble in a corner. He picked it to see what it was, and before he could realize, was under the marble's hypnotic influence. He remembered Tecna's instructions, but he couldn't leave the marble there. Screw Tecna.

"_Who died and made you our boss?" _was what Riven thought, and put the marble in his pocket.

"So what if I did?" asked Riven, while snatching the ball from Musa's hands. "It's not like anybody missed it."

"Riven, you have to give it back, now!" protested Musa. "You don't know what that thing is, or what it can do!"

"Come on, you already saw what it can do," said Riven. "It only changes it colors depending on who touches it. I bet it's just a toy."

"Riven..." she said, exasperated.

"Musa, I promise that, the second I feel that there's something wrong with this, I'll give it back," said Riven.

Musa knew that there was no point in arguing with him. She could only hope that he was right about the marble being harmless.

"Alright," said Musa. "I won't say anything. But... why are you so hell-bent on keeping that thing?"

"I don't know," said Riven. "It makes me... feel good. Like when I'm with you."

Musa raised an eyebrow. That was at least, a very interesting comparison.

"That marble makes you feel like _when you're with me_?"

"It sounds rather awful when you say it that way," protested Riven.

"You're crazy, Riven," said Musa, and exited his room. Hell, she even forgot what she was going to tell him. Oh well, it seems that he wouldn't have cared, anyway.

…

"_Listen carefully," said the instructor. "I'm going to explain the basic principles of paladin magic."_

_Marco, along with a dozen or so teens his age, were standing in front of a middle aged man with short brown hair and a gray beard. They were in a training field._

"_The paladin's power comes from his inherent desire to do good, help other people selflessly and bring justice to the world," the man began. "A common question you'll ask yourselves is 'How do you know what's good?'. Well, the answer is inside each one of you."_

_Seeing that there were no questions, the instructor continued._

"_However, that's only the source of unaltered power. In order to give shape to that power, a paladin's mind has to be clear and focused. You can use this power to heal or protect your allies, as well as to attack your enemies."_

"_Wait," one of Marco's mates said. "How can we obtain a cleared mind?"_

"_I expected that question," said the instructor. "And again, the answer is inside you. To have a clear mind requires a lot of training and practice, and is something very few people can attain. However, I can give you some tips: meditation, at least half an hour a day, is of some help. Purge your mind of impure or selfish thoughts. Reflect on yourselves and your lives. The more you understand yourselves, the better you'll handle the power you've been blessed with."_

"Hey!" said a voice.

Marco started upon hearing somebody calling him. He was in the palace's garden, meditating. However, he had fallen asleep. The paladin looked up and saw a royal guard in front of him.

"Are you okay?" asked the man.

"Yeah, I just fell asleep," said Marco, ashamed.

"The garden isn't a place for a nap," reproached the guard, and continued with his rounds.

Marco left the garden and entered the palace. He asked one of the maids for the location of the training grounds, and the maid kindly told him where they were. She also told him that there were other people there training, including King Sky and his personal squire.

He didn't like other people to see him training. However, when he reached the training grounds, he was cheered upon seeing that the grounds were huge. He chose an isolated place, and began his training.

Even if a cleared mind was needed to perform paladin magic, there were different levels depending of which spell you were going to cast. For this one, a great amount of concentration was required.

Marco closed his eyes, put his hands together like he was praying, concentrated as hard he could, and recited the spell in a whisper. His body began to emit a golden light. Now it was the time to shape the energy. He had the image of the spell in his mind, and was ready to release it. But when he did the result was disastrous.

Uncontrolled energy created a explosion that blew him back, crashing against a wall. Everybody stopped what they were doing to see what disturbed their training, and immediately came closer to the paladin, who was lying on the ground in pain.

Sky immediately recognized Marco, and told the training soldiers that he'd see what was going on.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Sky as he and Brandon helped Marco to stand up.

"Yes," said the paladin, coughing.

"What were you doing?" asked Brandon.

"An advanced spell," said Marco. "That I obviously haven't mastered yet."

"It seems to be a dangerous spell," said Sky, almost sounding like a warning.

"It's less dangerous than you think," said Marco. "Given that you cast it correctly."

"Maybe, but seeing what happened here, I have to forbid you to try that spell again," said Sky. "Not only you did hurt yourself, but you could have hurt other people as well."

"That's why I chose a place far from everybody else," replied Marco.

"Still, I don't want to risk it again," said Sky. Marco gave up on the discussion.

"Hey, do you want to spar with us?" offered Brandon. "I haven't seen you fight yet."

"Sure, why not," said the paladin. Maybe it was for the best if he left that spell for the future.

* * *

**Author's note:** So, another chapter ends. I'm really proud of this chapter, since I feel that the story is gaining the depth I was aiming for, and I finally starting some important subplots. How long will take until the Man in Black attacks Eraklyon? What is Gaul's mysterious "Ultimate Spell"? Why is Riven so attached to that magic marble? And most important...will Mirta survive going shopping with Stella?

Once again, thanks a lot to all the people who review this story.


	15. You Are Like Me

**Chapter 15: You Are Like Me**

A portal opened and two figures stepped out of it. The first one big and broad, the second one smaller and thinner. The thinner figure turned to the portal, and whispered the magic words to close it.

"Here we are," said Gaul.

"Whisperia," the Man in Black said, "It's been ages since I was here last."

Whisperia was the original witch world, where the Ancient Three Witches were born and raised, where witchcraft originated, and where the Ancient Witch Coven was formed. It was an incredibly hostile planet, regardless of your alignment. The sky was always full of thick clouds that blocked the sun, leaving the planet in a perpetual darkness. The climate was very cold, although not as cold as the Omega Dimension, but snowstorms and hail were common, as well as thunderstorms and gale-force winds.

Of course, Whisperia wasn't always like this. Many years ago it was a beautiful garden world, with various environments and a large variety of fauna and flora. But practically nobody remembered that Whisperia any more. The native plants and animals were mutated into horrifying monsters by the Ancestresses' dark energy that little by little consumed the planet.

As anybody should expect, Whisperia also had human population. However, once the Ancestresses turned the planet into their base of operations, anybody who didn't agree to follow them was forced to leave. After the Ancestresses' defeat and the dissolution of the Coven, the planet was abandoned.

A fairy wouldn't last five minutes. It's extreme negative energy would greatly reduce the fairy's powers to the point of its being almost nullified. Also, the fairy's light magic would be like a lighthouse in the night for the nightmarish creatures that inhabited the world. Even if the Ancestresses were no more, their evil would would remain on that cursed world, probably forever.

The Man in Black and his undead lackey began their journey. They traveled through the vast wastelands until they arrived their destination.

"This place looked better the last time I saw it," commented the masked man.

"Nobody's been here in ages, milord," replied Gaul. "Maybe what you're looking for isn't here anymore."

"Oh, it is," replied the Man in Black, sure of himself. He led the way inside.

The place they were in was a ruined Citadel that had been the Ancestresses' fortress. At the entrance it was decorated by three statues. However, the statues weren't of ugly old women in black cloaks, but of young, pretty women wearing beautiful dresses. The Ancestresses as they had been originally.

Both sides lost their leaders during the battle of Domino. However, the Coven was hit worse than the Company of Light, and with the Ancestresses' guide and power removed the Coven lost most of it's might. Besides, the monarchs of Domino were rescued by their surviving daughter, Bloom, and the Lost Kingdom was brought back to life.

They crossed through the already open gate, and headed to the basement. It was littered with unidentifiable debris, but the Man in Black found what he was looking for in no time.

"See? I told you it was here." said the large man, gesturing at their goal.

"I'm glad that I was wrong," the Lich replied.

It was a large chest, covered in dust and rust, hard to be identified against the other junk.

"Ah, my toybox," gushed the Man in Black . "Exactly as it was the last time I checked."

…

Upon finding the palace's pool, Aisha suggested they spend the day there. Aisha's favorite hobby was to swim. Not only to make her body stronger, but because she simply loved it. However, Aisha preferred to swim in the sea. She loved to swim against the ocean currents, ride the huge waves, or simply stay still, floating and letting the smaller waves rock her. She also loved to dive, swimming as far into the depths as she could until her lungs screamed for air. Then, when she came to the surface, the first breath would feel so much better.

But for now, she had to contend with what the pool offered. And she had to enjoy it alone, since nobody else wanted to swim with her. Bloom, Flora and Musa were sitting on the edge of the pool chatting while drinking, and Nabu and Helia were lying on hammocks. Yup, those people really knew how to make the most of a pool.

Whenever she took a bath, either in the sea, a pool or a bathtub, Aisha couldn't help but remember her home planet Andros. Since Valtor almost blew it up after corrupting most of its inhabitants, there was a constant fear for her world housed in her heart. For how long her world would be safe, especially now that the apprentice of Valtor was loose?

"Hey, why don't you come into the water?" asked Aisha of her female friends.

"Maybe later," Musa declined her offer, taking a sip of fruit punch.

Aisha shrugged, and continued swimming.

"Hey, Flora..." Bloom began sheepishly. "I've been thinking about what I said before. You know, about Mirta..."

"Yes?" said Flora, raising an eyebrow.

"...and I think that what I did was wrong. I should never have suggested such a thing. We don't abandon people like that, much less our friends," Bloom said, not looking at Flora's eyes.

The nature fairy smiled. "It's okay, " said Flora, trying to reassure her redheaded friend.

"I was under a lot of pressure."

"Yeah, well, all of us were," interjected Musa.

"That's not what I meant," said Bloom.

"Then what?"

"It's... nevermind." Bloom shook her head and reached for her glass.

Even though Flora and Musa lacked Mirta's empathic powers, it was quite obvious that Bloom was hiding something from them. Something that deeply troubled her. However, they decided not to press her about it. Maybe she'd share her problems at the right moment.

…

Timmy was in his room, typing something in his computer, when Tecna entered.

"Hey, Timmy," the technology fairy greeted him, "Are you busy?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'll finish soon. What do you want?" the specialist asked, looking around at her.

"Nothing, I was thinking that maybe we could spend this time doing a little travel around. Eraklyon has great places to visit, but despite all the times I've been here, I've never had the opportunity," Tecna explained.

"Oh, sure. Just let me finish this." He turned back to the keyboard.

Tecna came closer, and took a look at the computer's screen.

"Hostile Environment Suit?" asked Tecna.

"A project I've been working for some months. It's a suit for specialists and other non-magic fighters. If I can make a prototype and demostrate it, it may even replace Red Fountain's standard uniform, which is fairly impractical," Timmy expalined.

"You never rest, huh?" Tecna teased.

"Look who's talking," retorted Timmy. "In the last week, you've talked about nothing but the Forge. The Forge this, the Forge that...you sounded like a broken record."

"Broken record? I don't think that I'm familiar with that expression," said Tecna.

"Me neither, actually. I heard Bloom say it," Timmy said with a shrug.

"Well, I'm just interested in my people's past. Is there something wrong with that?" asked Tecna in a bothered tone.

"Oh, no. But I'm glad that you decided to take some time to relax. Also, it was very unlike you.."

Now Tecna was starting to get pissed.

"Unlike me? And what's supposed to mean that?" asked Tecna, arms crossed.

"Well, it's just that... you usually... well," Timmy was having a hard times finding the right words, given Tecna's mood. "You're somebody who focuses on the present time and place. Somebody who looks forward, not backwards. You're somebody practical, who doesn't give too much importance to past things . In other words... you're somebody strongly guided by logic."

"So, that's how you see me? As an emotionless machine who only thinks of what's logical?" replied Tecna. "I'm much more than that, Timmy. And I thought after all this time, you knew that."

"I'm sorry if I said something that offended you," Timmy replied calmly. "But I still stand by what I said. For example, you've never told me about your parents."

"Because you've never asked," Tecna quickly replied.

"So? I told you about myself and my family without you having to ask," said Timmy. "Since I'm your boyfriend, I guessed that you'd probably like to know those things about me. And since you're my girlfriend, I'd like to know things about you."

"Well, you could still ask me if you wanted to know anything about me or my family," Tecna retorted.

"See? That's what I meant," said Timmy with a teasing smile. "Tecna, if somebody never talks about his past, his family, or whatever, people usually deduce that it's because those memories are painful to them, and don't want to open old wounds."

"Well, that's not true in my case. My parents and I love each other."

"And how I was supposed to know that? I don't know about your relationship with your parents, and since you've never spoken of them, I was afraid that I would make a mistake by asking. Stella never talks about her parents because their divorce greatly affected her."

"I... I never saw it that way," Tecna admitted, sheepishly. "Would you like me better if I was more... expressive? Like Bloom or Stella?"

"I like you the way you are," Timmy said in a reassuring tone. "I'm just saying that maybe you could be more open, and let me get to know you better."

"I know that I've never been good at expressing my emotions," Tecna said. "Back in school, I didn't have any friends. They said I was weird, since I was the most intelligent girl in my class, even by my world's standards, and loved to do things nobody else was interested in.

At first I cursed my intellect, since I wanted to be like everybody else so bad, but my parents told me that my brain was a gift, not a burden, and that I should learn to appreciate it. I guess it was then I withdrew into myself, thinking that I wouldn't need anybody else in my life..."

"Wow...you never told me that before," said Timmy.

"Because you never asked," Tecna replied again. Timmy frowned. Tecna frowned back at Timmy. They were holding their stares for a long minute, until Tecna suddenly giggled, and then laughed out loud.

Timmy laughed too.

"Why are we laughing?" asked Tecna, wiping a tear.

"I don't know and I don't care," replied Timmy. "I like when you laugh. By the way, do you feel any better?"

"...yes. Do you... do you want to hear more things about me?"

"I'd love to."

…

The sound of clashing phantoblades echoed through the training floors. All the people training there, most of them Eraklyon soldiers and royal guards, stopped their swordsmanship practice to watch King Sky fight. Of course, they had seen him fight multiple times, but this time was different. He usually sparred against his squire Brandon, but this time he faced a totally new opponent.

Marco did his best to hold his might against the young king. He was going against the best student of Red Fountain School for Warriors, the most prestigious academy in the entire magical dimension (or that's what they told him), and he was testing if that reputation was deserved. And for the record, it was.

Sky's form of fighting was swift and precise, not allowing his adversary any time to recover, in contrast to Marco's, which relied on a tight defense and slower but more powerful moves.

They were both exhausted, but neither of them was willing to stop and recognize the other's superiority.

Strange at its sounds, Marco learned more about Sky (and probably about the other specialists) in that sparring match than in all their previous conversations. When you're in a military school, they enforce competition, and teach you to be the best, to never give up on any fight.

The paladin noticed that the young king carefully observed all his moves, and thought of ways to counter them. Despite being a magnificent adversary, Marco also noticed a total lack of aggression on Sky's swings. Like him, they must have taught the Specialist to not to fight when full of hate, and that there are lots of honorable reasons to fight.

"You're really good, Sky," Marco praised. "Those Red Fountain teachers did a great job with you."

"You too," said Sky. "You know, we could be fighting like this forever."

Marco caught the message instantly. He was visibly tired and wanted to stop, but his pride wouldn't let him to do so. Sky felt exactly the same way.

"So, is this a tie?" asked the paladin.

Sky immediately stopped fighting, and deactivated his sword. Marco did likewise. Seeing that the fight was over, the rest of the soldiers resumed their training.

"They said that the best swordsmen come from Red Fountain, but you're pretty good too," said Sky. "Who taught you?"

"My grandfather. I learned all that I know about armed combat from him."

"He must be a great warrior," Brandon interjected.

"You bet he is," said Marco, almost gushing. "And when he had both arms, he was even better."

"So... how did you decide to become a paladin?" asked Brandon.

"I didn't choose it. My grandfather trained me in combat since I was little, because according to him that was the best way to make a man out of me," the paladin explained. "But even if I wasn't given a choice, I like what I do. When I fight... I feel like myself. And to know that I'm fighting to protect others makes me feel even better."

"Yeah, we know that feeling too," said Sky. "Many people see us as warmongering, violent nutjobs, but there's a lot of beauty and nobility behind all that we do."

"Is that why you decided to attend Red Fountain?" asked Marco.

"Yes, but there's more," Sky replied. "When I was little, my dad told me about the past kings of Eraklyon. Many of them were notable warriors that did a lot of heroic deeds, and I told myself that I wanted to be like them. When I grew up, I left most of those childish fantasies behind, but the wish to become a warrior was still there.

Guess that, since I spent most of the time in the palace with no friends other than Brandon, I befriended some of the royal guards. They told me about how they were raised to defend the nation, to give their lives if necessary. They learned to be brave and strong. And I thought that, if someday I was going to be king, I had to know that. Because that's the duty of any ruler."

"You're indeed a noble person, Sky," said Marco. "Many realms would kill to have a king like you," Marco then turned at Brandon. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm afraid that my tale of how I joined Red Fountain may not be as poetic as Sky's," said Brandon between chuckles. "My mom works in the Royal Palace, so I spent a lot of time there, and since Sky and I were the only kids, we quickly became friends. When Sky decided to go to Red Fountain, Erendor, the then-King, was afraid that his son could be exposed to danger, so he chose me to go to as well, in order to protect his son."

"We even traded identities," Sky added.

"But I don't regret attending Red Fountain. It helped me to be stronger, I made a lot friends, and best of all, I met Stella, my girlfriend."

"Stella? That blond girl who talks nineteen to the dozen?" asked Marco.

"That's one way to describe her," said Sky, almost laughing.

"I'm intrigued by that school, Red Fountain. Please tell me more about it."

"Oh, we will. But not now," said Sky. "Tonight, at dinner, when all of us are gathered, we will tell you anything you want. But for now, let's go get cleaned up."

Marco couldn't wait for the evening to arrive. However, little did he know that it was going to be much busier than he expected.


	16. Enemies at the Gate

**Chapter 16: Enemies at the Gate**

On the outskirts of the capital of Eraklyon, Mirage the psychic witch walked to a large tree, using her powers to make sure that nobody was following her. She whispered a magic word, and the tree revealed a large hole in it. Mirage entered through the hole, and an illusion covered that entrance again. After going down a long flight of stairs she reached a large cavity, illuminated by torches, where her masters and comrades were waiting for her.

"Ah, Mirage, you're back," the Man in Black said. "Tell me, what did you find out?"

"The magical essence of Eraklyon is held in a place named The Pantheon of the Kings," Mirage began, "It's a large building two kilometers south of the Royal Palace."

"It is defended?" Gaul interjected.

"You can bet on it," said Mirage. "I've been there to check it myself. There is a powerful ancient magic that protects the place. Even if all of us combined our powers we couldn't break it."

"That's a problem," said the Man in Black.

"Oh, but I also found a way to remove that protection," revealed Mirage, catching her master's attention. "The current king, and only him, can open the Pantheon's door and deactivate its protective field."

"I see. Guess that we have to prepare for a fight," the Man in Black declared sententiously. "Are you ready?"

"Of course," said Neyra.

"I was born ready for moments like this," said Kharel, stroking the blade of his beloved sword.

"What about you, Gaul?" said the Man in Black, turning to the Lich. "Are you ready to attack now, or would you prefer to wait for night?"

Gaul's reply didn't take long to come. "Let's wait until night."

The Man in Black grinned behind his mask. Another guy would proudly state that he's ready to fight, no matter the handicap, but Gaul wasn't that kind of person. It wasn't cowardice, and both knew that. Gaul simply wanted to wait until night to be as effective as possible. He was loyal both to him and their cause, and wanted to serve both the best he could.

"There's three hours until the sun sets, but maybe we should wait some more after," Neyra suggested.

"I agree," the Man in Black said. "By the way, I've been in my... old homeland, and I brought some things that may be useful."

The Man in Black opened his chest, and began to rummage through the many artifacts and relics until he found what he was looking for. "Nayra, Mirage, come here!"

The two witches obeyed their master's order immediately.

"I want you to have these." he gave each one an object.

The item the two witches had in their hands were two identical talismans. It had the shape of a pentagon. There were five strings of metal that came out from its angles and converged in the center of it. And, in that point, there was a red jewel.

"What is this?" asked Neyra.

"Those artifacts will increase your power when fighting against fairies, and they will protect you from fairy magic," the masked man explained. "Now leave, I want to speak with Gaul alone."

The knight and the two witches left the room..

"What do you want to talk about, milord?" asked the Lich.

"Those Winx fairies are here, as you know," said The Man in Black.

"Of course they are. You chose to attack this planet because of that, remember?"

"Yes. However, I need to know my enemies before I engage them in a fight. You fought and observed them before, tell me what you know."

"Of course I will, master, but..."

"But?"

"May I know first what you have in mind? Do you plan to steal Eraklyon's magical essence?"

"Well that's something Master Valtor would do," said the man in Black, and sighed. He then turned to his lackey and said: "But I'm not Master Valtor."

It was night in Eraklyon, and the Winx and the Specialists were getting ready for the formal dinner with Eerendor and Samara, who were Sky's parents and the former rulers of Eraklyon. They all wore fancy dresses and suits. Bloom was wearing a long, sleeveless blue dress, with a white ribbon under her chest. Musa was wearing a hot red knee length dress decorated with pink and white flowers and wore her hair down instead of her usual pigtails. And she was wearing a silver tiara. Flora was wearing a long lime green gown with green shoulders. Aisha also wore a long, soft purple dress and a pink stole over her shoulders.

"Wow, Bloom, you look stunning!" praised Sky upon seeing Bloom's dress.

"You always say that," replied Bloom.

"That's because you always look stunning," said Sky, making Bloom chuckle.

"Are you okay, Bloom? You look a bit tense," Flora noticed.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that Sky's parents aren't too fond of me," Bloom said.

"Oh, that's not true. My mom likes you a lot, and my dad... well, just give him some time," said Sky.

"Yeah, you worry to much, Bloom. It's impossible not to like you," Aisha reassured her friend.

"That's impossible. I'm sure there are people that don't like me," said Bloom. "But with Sky's parents it's different."

"Oh, don't worry, you only have to not to make a fool of yourself," said Musa. "Like Riven the last time we had a dinner with my dad."

"Oh, come on, when will you let that go?" protested Riven.

"Never! That belch still echoes in my head!" said Musa.

"Oh my, I've always thought that Riven wasn't very restrained, but..." Timmy commented.

"Aren't we missing somebody?" asked Nabu.

"Yeah, this would be the kind of situation in which Stella would make a caustic comment," said Bloom, noticing the blond's absence.

"Mirta isn't here either," said Flora.

"I heard that Stella went shopping with Mirta," Tecna said.

"UUUUUGGGHH!" said the rest of the girls in unison.

"Poor Mirta! I wouldn't like to be her right now!" said Aisha in mock disgust.

"Yeah, I still remember the last time I went shopping with Stella. I thought that she was going to drive me mad!"

At that moment, Stella burst in. She was wearing a dark blue, sleeveless dress that came down to her feet, decorated with small, golden stars, and light blue long gloves.

"Hey, did anybody miss me?" said Stella in a very cheerful mood.

"Stella! Were have you been?" asked Bloom.

"Yeah, the dinner's about to start," said Sky.

"Hey, relax!" said Stella. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is the new Mirta!"

Mirta entered in the room. She was wearing a stunning knee long black dress, which was simple but beautiful. She was also wearing high heeled shoes and a golden necklace. Her short, dark red hair had been trimmed and additional bangles added that matched the necklace.

"Wow Mirta, you look great!" praised Flora.

"Totally!" added Musa.

"Thanks!" said Mirta, almost blushing. "You guys are so nice."

Helia noticed that Marco was looking at Mirta fixedly, but was quiet. "Aren't you going to say anything to her?" whispered Helia, giving him a nudge.

"Uh? Oh, yeah..." stammered Marco. "You look rather pretty in that dress," said the paladin, his face turning a light red.

"Thank you," said Mirta, face also red, "You look rather handsome too."

"Oh, but I'm not wearing anything special, just my uniform," said Marco, now a bit more relaxed.

"Hey, Mirta, how are you? We heard that Stella took you shopping with her," said Aisha, sounding like it was something horrible.

"It was...interesting," said Mirta. "We hit like two dozen shops until I found this, which according to Stella was the most fitting for me. Then she said that we had to buy some shoes to match the dress. Then some accessories. God, I'm never going to get used to high heels."

"You being a former witch, I knew from the start that black was your color," said Stella, giving Mirta a smug look. "Is the dinner ready? All that shopping left me starving!"

"Sure. In fact we were waiting for you to arrive," said Aisha.

"Great, let's go!"

Sky lead them to the dinning room, where servants where already laying out the food. All of them took a seat, with Sky at the end of the table and Bloom on his right.

"Where are my parents?" asked Sky, noticing their absence.

"They'll be here soon, sire," one of the servants replied. "And they said you're free to start dinner without them."

Bloom felt some relief to hear that her future in-laws weren't there, at least for the moment, while the others simply started eating.

…

Meanwhile, outside the Eraklyon Royal Palace, Gaul and his apprentices were reconnoitering the area, making sure that the patrolling guards wouldn't spot them.

"How many guards do you count, sis?" asked Neyra.

"Many. Dozens. But they won't be any trouble," Mirage replied.

"How about the Winx fairies?" asked Gaul.

"They're inside the castle, that's for sure. Their boy toys are also there."

"Okay. Get ready for the attack," Gaul ordered.

"Aren't we going to wait for the Master? Or isn't he going to take part?" asked Kharel, confused.

"Oh, he _will_ take part, that's for sure," assured the Lich. "However, he prefers to make a more... dramatic entrance."

Kharel was left thinking what his mentor's mysterious words could mean. Well, he'd find out soon enough.

…

Back in the Palace, the Winx girls and the specialists were enjoying a nice dinner. For some reason, Sky's parents still hadn't arrived, but he seemed to be the only one worried about them.

"So, tell me Sky, what's it like to be a king?" asked Stella.

"Well, even if I'm officially the King, my parents still act as the rulers," Sky began. "Promoting me to King this early was their decision, not mine. My father wants me to get accustomed to the royal duties so I'm better prepared when I rule this kingdom for real."

"I wish I could stay a princess forever," said Stella. "Being princess is great. But I don't even want to think of the day I have to take the throne. All the fun will be gone, probably forever."

"Oh, don't say that," said Brandon. "Remember I'll be with you, to help you with anything you need."

"Don't forget that we're also the Guardian Fairies of our worlds, so our duties will be even greater," Aisha added.

"Thanks Aisha, you always make things _much_ better," said Stella sourly.

"Maybe you shouldn't see being the ruler of your world as such a bad thing," Marco intervened for the first time. "You'll have a lot of responsibilities, that's true, but it's the acquisition of responsibilities that makes us grow as people. Your lifestyle sounds funny to me, but neither you nor anybody else will be young forever."

"Wise words," complimented Tecna. "Although in my opinion, to delegate the responsibility of ruling a planet to just one person sounds very inefficient. That's why we've never had a king on Zenith."

"Yeah. Besides, who gave them the right to rule?" challenged Riven. "What if the people don't want them?"

"I won't have that problem. It's impossible not to love me," said Stella with a smug but funny smile. "I have the face of an angel and a magnetic personality. And I'll raise my kids to be just like me."

Brandon almost choked when Stella mentioned having kids while everyone else laughed.

"A leader shouldn't be judged based on their personality, but on their strength and ability to make decisions. That's how great leaders are forged," Marco said.

"Speaking of which, who's the king of your world?" asked Nabu.

"We don't have a king."

"Another thing you had in common," whispered Stella to Mirta, giving her a hint of a smile.

"Do you have democracy?" asked Bloom.

Marco shook his head again. "Lumyon is a timocracy."

Everybody looked at Marco like he said some sort of nonsense.

"A timocracy is a form of administration in which the military acts as the ruling government," explained Timmy.

"Exactly," said the paladin. "Our nation was founded on the principles that the rulers of the people also should be in charge of their defense. We think that it's the best form of government, since some -no, many- decisions can't be made on what the majority wants."

"Sorry, but I disagree," Mirta intervened. "How can you say that? It's obvious that people would know better than anybody what's the best for them."

"It's more complicated than that," said Marco. "People need strong leaders capable of bringing order, but they can't be chosen by the population. They may choose somebody who is very nice, kind and promises lots of things, but could be an abysmal ruler, or simply not be faithful to said promises. On the other hand, somebody can't be the leader of a nation just because their parents were. No offense to any of you royals."

"So, if people can't choose their leader nor have a king, what is your solution?" asked Mirta, arms crossed.

"A leader has to have a strong character, ability to take decisions, intelligence, instinct, to be selfless and willing to do what's best for his people. Traits that are inborn," the paladin said. "On the other hand, said leader should also have experience and wisdom, things that you learn in the course your life. Leaders are born, but also made."

"You make a point there," said Mirta. "But what if the leader of a nation becomes corrupted with power?"

"Then he should be dethroned," the paladin stated.

"And who's going to dethrone him?" challenged Mirta. "He's the king, remember?"

"That's why I said that leaders are also made," replied Marco. "Before a future king takes the throne, he should learn certain values and morals. Even if neither me nor my people approve of monarchies, I applaud Sky's decision to enlist at Red Fountain. All the things he learned there will help him to become a much better king."

"Thanks... I guess," said Sky, unsure of Marco's meaning.

Suddenly, the whole castle shook.

"What was that?" asked Helia.

Another tremor was followed by several explosions. Brandon stood up from his seat, and took a look outside. What he saw stunned him.

"Sky! The front courtyard is on fire!" shouted Brandon.

Suddenly, a bunch of royal guards burst in.

"King Sky, we're under attack!" announced one of the guards.

"What? Who?" said Sky, trying to assimilate the unexpected event.

"Living skeletons! They appeared from nowhere and attacked the palace!" the guard informed them.

"Skeletons! It has to be that Lich!" deduced Bloom. "Let's go outside everybody, now!"

Following Bloom's order, they rushed to the main door of the palace.

"What about my parents? Are they okay?" asked Sky to one of the guards.

"Yes, your Majesty. The reason for their absence during dinner," the guard said between pants. "Is that several patrols found unconscious bodies."

"WHAT?" Sky was totally taken aback. "And why I wasn't informed?"

"Your father said that there was no need to bother you," said the guard. "I'm very sorry about that, sire."

"Never mind. Were they attacked?"

"That's the strangest thing. None of them had bruises or any other signs of fighting. They weren't poisoned either."

"Okay, I want you to do this," Sky said firmly. "Get my parents out of the palace and take them to our post in the northern range. They'll be safe there."

"What about you, sire?" asked another guard.

"My friends and I will take care of this. Now go!"

The guards left the group. When the Winx and the Specialists arrived at the front courtyard, the outlook was devastating: the courtyard was on fire, like Brandon said. Balls of fire rained from the sky, spreading the fire. The Royal guards were engaged in a fight against an almost endless horde of skeletal warriors.

"Come on girls, go Enchantix!" shouted Bloom.

The seven fairies transformed into their Enchantix forms, and joined the fight. The Specialists joined in as well. Soon, the invasion force was repelled, but the skeletons didn't give up.

"Drive them out of the palace!" commanded Sky to his men.

"Are you going to throw in the towel to us already? We just got here..." said a new voice.

A dark cloud appeared in the middle of the battlefield and four figures emerged from it. They were Gaul and his apprentices.

"Are you enjoying the barbecue?" mocked Neyra, referring to the fire.

"Sorry, I only eat low fat foods," snarked Stella.

"I knew you were behind this attack," said Sky. "Why did you come here? What do you want?"

However, he got no reply.

"Sky asked you a question!" yelled Bloom, and cast a huge fireball at the Lich.

Kharel, however, stood between the Lich and the fireball, blocking and absorbing the latter with his sword. He then motioned his sword forwards, and tossed the fireball back at Bloom. Bloom however, dodged it.

"And I don't want to answer it," replied the Lich. "But don't worry, you'll see why soon. Come on, make them suffer!"

A new wave of skeletons arrived, accompanied by a small group of wraiths. The battle intensified.

"Let's get this party started!" said Neyra, her hands glowing fiery red. "Twisted Hell!" She summoned three pillars of spinning fire. The pillars forced the winx and specialists to scatter.

"My turn! Shadow Nova!" shouted Mirage.

The psychic witch unleashed a wave of darkness in the middle of her opponents, hurling them away.

"I had enough of you!" said Musa, visibly enraged. "Sound Blast!" Musa cast a sonic wave at Mirage, but the psychic witch dodged the attack easily.

"Musa, remember that she can read minds!" said Flora. "Tecna's the only one immune to her abilities."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her," reassured Tecna, and faced Mirage. "Electric Storm!" Tecna cast a ball of green electricity at her foe.

"Mind Push!" shouted Mirage. An invisible projectile was sent at Tecna's attack, and the two exploded upon impact.

Tecna was planning her next move, when suddenly Mirage appeared right in front of her.

"Think faster!" said the psychic witch, and blasted Tecna with a dark beam. Tecna flew backwards and crashed against the ground. Timmy, who was fighting against some skeletons noticed that his girlfriend was in danger and came to help.

"Tecna, are you okay?" said the specialist, worried.

"Yes. She only hurt my pride," replied Tecna, letting Timmy help her back on her feet.

"If you think that that hurt... you still haven't seen anything," said Mirage with a malicious tone.

Meanwhile, Gaul the Lich was about to fight against Nabu.

"I was hoping that our paths would cross again, wizard," said the Lich, sounding strangely delighted.

"Sorry if the feeling isn't mutual," replied Nabu. The wizard lost no time, and summoned three illusions of himself. The four Nabus surrounded the Lich, and cast a blue beam of energy at him.

"Unholy shield!" yelled Gaul and raised a dark force field around himself. "Nice try!" Gaul then cast a wave of energy that made the illusions vanish.

"What happens, Lich? Are you afraid to attack? Give me your best shot!" challenged the wizard.

"So you can redirect it back at me like you did in the Forge? Sorry, but I won't fall for that again."

The Lich then sensed something. He raised his Unholy Shield again, and felt magic projectiles crashing against it. He turned back to see Aisha and Stella.

"Attacking from behind, huh? Maybe you fairies aren't as naive as I thought," said Gaul.

"Just because we're fairies, it doesn't mean that we won't do whatever's needed to beat people like you!" replied Aisha.

"Why don't you surrender? My powers will wipe out you and your army of skeletons in a blink," said Stella.

"You fool! This is not like the last time we fought! During the night, my power is stronger while yours is weaker!" said Gaul.

"Correction: my power isn't any weaker, just different. Silver Beam!"

A white beam came out of Stella's hands and exploded upon contacting Gaul. The Lich fell to the ground.

"So, you also have moon based powers... I wasn't expecting that... but it changes nothing. Now DIE!"

Gaul summoned a cloud of black smoke that grew by the moment until reached a considerable size, and slowly flew towards the wizard and the two fairies. Then several tentacles came out of the cloud, trying to grab them.

"Take care! That's a Faceless Horror! A shapeless creature that feeds off magic!" warned Nabu.

"White Moon!" yelled Stella, forming a ball of white light between her hands. The ball emitted a powerful flash of light that repelled the tentacles.

"Good job, Stella!" cheered Aisha. "Now it's my turn: Plasma Warp!"

Aisha cast a beam of morphix at the black cloud, but the attack was absorbed. New tentacles came out from the darkness, knocking Stella, Aisha and Nabu away.

"Aisha! I just told you that it feeds on magic!" said Nabu.

"Then what I'm supposed to do?" protested the Princess of Andros.

"Wait until it shows any part of its body and attack there." he replied, standing up.

A tentacle, however, grabbed Stella by the ankle and pulled her towards the horror.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Stella, panic-stricken.

"Hold on!" said Aisha, and she and Nabu grabbed Stella by her arms.

"Don't let me go! Don't let me go!" cried Stella.

A slit formed in the black cloud. The slit then turned into a huge hole. From the hole came thousands of screams and roars. They saw that the walls of the hole had spikes on it.

"I think that's its mouth!" said Aisha. Stella's screams were even louder upon hearing this.

"Don't worry Stella! Here I am to save you!" Brandon joined the fight and sliced the tentacles, releasing Stella. The horror let out a scream of pain, which seemed to be many screams superimposed. It was something dreadful to hear. Seconds later the black cloud vanished, and so did the creature that lived within.

"I see that you survived," observed the Lich. "However, you should ask yourselves how long can you last like this."

They immediately realized what Gaul was saying. The fight was exhausting them, while the Lich looked perfectly fine. And it wasn't just them: Sky, Riven and Helia barely held their own against Kharel, while Bloom, Flora, Musa, Mirta and Marco had a lot of trouble dealing with Neyra. It was like something was leeching their energy.

"Why don't you listen to Gaul?" asked Neyra. "It would be much better for both you and us if you surrender now."

"I don't know how long I can keep fighting..." panted Bloom.

"It's like they suddenly become much stronger than before," said Musa.

Mirta also felt tired, but she wouldn't give up. However, they were exhausted much faster than before. Being a former witch, Mirta took no time in realizing that there was some sort of that magic that was attacking them from the inside, undermining their mind and bodies. And she knew how to counter it.

The half witch quietly moved away from the fight, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

The exhausted fairies and warriors began hearing a voice that came from their very souls.

_Don't give up..._

_Don't believe what they said, you're stronger than you think..._

_Don't fear, feel how courage fills your heart..._

"Hey, I feel... much better now!" said Bloom.

"Yeah, like I could do anything!" said Stella, with a renewed hopes.

"You guys are so screwed!" said Musa.

Again, this was something that he didn't predict. Hell, even the Eraklyon Royal Guards were fighting more vigorously against his undead minions. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to do anything now. It was time.

"I'm glad that you feel so strong," the Lich said. "Because here comes something that will test that strength!"

Everybody heard a fiery roar coming from above. From the skies, a bunch of winged creatures dashed towards the battlefield. They were dragons. However, once they were closer, they realized that they were _skeletal_ dragons. One of the dragons carried a humanoid figure on its back. The figure jumped to the ground despite the considerable height, and crashed in the middle of the courtyard, creating a huge crater. If it wasn't for the protective shield that the fairies raised, the impact would have killed many people. But that wasn't the worst of it.

From the crater, the mysterious figure stepped out. He was big and broad. Black armor covered his entire body and a black cloak that draped his shoulders had a hood that was pulled over his head. His face was hidden behind a silver mask. Crafted on his chest was the Eye of Oblivion.

"This was a mere warm up," the Lich said maliciously. "The real fight begins now!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **The showdown everybody was expecting! The Winx Club vs The Man in Black! Who will come out as the winner?

This chapter turned longer than I expected. Aside from the battle, I took some time to flesh out Marco and his relationship with the girls and the specialists. The discussion about leadership and monarchies wasn't planned from the start, but I enjoyed a lot writing it, and I really liked how it came out. I also felt that I didn't write for the fight scene enoguh, seeing that Kharel and Neyra's fight happened off screen, but I felt that if I included them too, the chapter would drag and people would get bored. Well, hopefully we'll see more of them in the second part of the fight.

Oh, and here is a teaser: something horrible is going to happen to one of the fairies. Guess who!


	17. Fall of a King

**Author's Note:** Okay, this is the longest chapter of the story so far. It's very action packed, but I hope that nobody will get bored by the many fights and action sequences. By the way, I recently got the Tales of the Jedi comic books, and they gave me lots of good ideas for this story. Okay, let's go to the chapter:

* * *

**Chapter 17: The Fall of a King**

The undead dragons showered the battlefield with a blaze of blue fire while Eraklyon's soldiers faced Gaul's undead army. One of the officers ordered dragon riders to be deployed in order to counter the huge, flying beasts.

Long before arriving on Eraklyon and following the Man in Black's instructions, the Lich had traveled to Pyros, the Island of the Dragons. There the Lich looked for dragon corpses, and using his necromantic powers, brought them back to life. Gaul made sure to choose only the dragons that had died of old age, since dragons grow during their whole life, and an older dragon would be bigger than a young one. And he knew that there was a place on that island that dragons went when they felt that their death was near.

Everybody felt that time had suddenly stopped. Eraklyon's Royal Guards kept fighting waves of undead mooks, but both the Winx Club and the Man in Black and his minions paid no attention to what happened around them.

"So you're the legendary Winx, are you? I was impatient to finally meet you," said the Man in Black. Fear stuck everybody's heart upon hearing the masked man's dark, distorted voice for first time. He then winked at Mirta. "Although I see a familiar face."

Mirta's terror grew even more upon realizing that the Man in Black was speaking to her, and hid behind Flora. Drops of sweat run down her skin. Flora held Mirta's hand tightly.

Bloom gathered some courage and stepped forward to answer.

"Yes, we are," replied Bloom, trying to sound firm. "Now who are you and why are you attacking this planet?"

"My identity is useless to you," the Man in Black stated. "And I'm here for one thing: you, Bloom."

Bloom raised an eyebrow. It wasn't hard to guess his purposes.

"My followers and I represent the last remnant of the Ancient Witch Coven. The Coven's ultimate goal was to gather the ultimate power, the power of creation, the Dragon Fire. The ancestresses failed in this task, but I will finish what they started long time ago. Bloom, come with me and I'll withdraw my forces immediately. Think in the lives you could save."

"Many crazy witches and evil overlords with delusions of grandeur have tried to steal that power from me. None of them succeeded, and you won't either!"

The Man in Black laughed in delight. "I was hoping you would say that," he replied and adopted a battle stance.

"Come on girls, get ready!" shouted Bloom.

"Gaul, you and the kids deal with the rest! These pretty girls are mine!" said the Man in Black.

The battle started. Bloom was the first to attack. "Dragon Fury!" yelled Bloom, and a huge serpentine dragon made of fire came out of her hands, and arced to crash on the Man in Black. The masked man, however, showing a formidable speed for somebody of his size, leaped into the air, dodging the attack, and while in midair, dashed toward Bloom like a rocket. Bloom was fast enough to raise a protective shield around herself, although the impact was so powerful that made her entire body ache.

"Silver Beam!" yelled Stella, and like she did before, she cast a white beam of light, hitting the Man in Black, tossing him to the ground. "Direct hit!"

The Man in Black got to his feet in no time, but before he could realize what was happening, many vine whips were wrapping around his body and extremities.

"What the hell...?" said the man in Black, struggling against the plants' grip.

"This guy isn't going anywhere! Attack now!" said Flora.

The fairies cast beams of energy at the immobilized man, resulting in a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing but a huge hole in the ground.

"Did we beat him?"asked Mirta, unsure.

"Boy, that was easy," commented Musa.

"Too easy if you ask me. We should be careful," warned Tecna.

"Oh, come on, it's obvious that we destroyed him," said Aisha, trying to reassure her friends. "Nobody could survive th-"

But before Aisha could finish, the ground below her broke, Aisha looked down and saw the Man in Black, who grabbed her by the ankle and smashed her against the ground, much to the other girls horror.

"Aisha!" yelled Musa, and dived at the Man in Black. "You'll pay for this, monster! Soundwave Attack!"

Musa cast sonic blasts at the Man in Black, forcing him to move away from Aisha's mangled body.

"I'll heal Aisha!" said Flora, and quickly flew to the Princess of Andros to take care of her.

"We will deal with him meanwhile," said Stella. "Silver Beam!" Stella cast another beam of white light at the Man in Black, but instead of dodging it, he draw something buckled to his belt at lightning fast speed. The small item turned out to be a phantoblade that was used to deflect the attack. The Man in Black's phantoblade was a long, curved sword that looked like it was made of red hot iron.

"Digital Blast!" said Tecna, and shoot electric blots at the masked man. The Man in Black blocked the first few blasts, but then, once again displaying his impressive speed, the man rushed at Tecna while dodging the attacks, leaped into the air, and raised his sword, ready to cut the pink-haired fairy in half.

"DIE!" yelled the Man in Black while slashing at Tecna. However, he saw that the fairy of technology simply disappeared before his eyes. "What the...?"

"Were you looking for me?" asked Tecna, floating next to Mirta. "Thanks for saving me, Mirta. Combining illusions with a short range teleport spell was really smart."

"No problem.." replied the red headed fairy.

The Winx regrouped again. The Man in Black had proved to be a deadly adversary, and their only chance to beat him was to stick together.

"You're indeed worthy of all the things people say about you," praised the Man in Black, "Although I shouldn't be surprised since you beat Master Valtor."

The simple mention of Valtor's name made Bloom's blood boil. "Yes, and you'll keep him company soon!"

"We'll see about that, sweetheart. We'll see," said the Man in Black between laughs. "Hurricane of Nightmares!"

The Man in Black summoned a huge black tornado that advanced at the girls. It was the same spell that the Void Lord used on them back in Cloud Tower.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with this!" said Stella bravely. She then pulled off her ring and turned it into a scepter. The scepter began to glow with a golden light, and the black tornado turned golden as well. It turned and began to advance towards the Man in Black, who was forced to raise a force field in order to guard against it. But the Winx weren't going to give him any time to rest. Meanwhile, Flora and Aisha rejoined the group.

"I'll finish this once for all," stated Bloom, and began to channel a huge fire of ball between her hands that was growing by the moment.

"I'll help you!" said Mirta, coming up behind Bloom and placing the palm of her hand on Bloom's back. "Vigorous Heart," she whispered.

Bloom was surrounded by an orange glow, and felt her power dramatically increase. Mustering all this newfound energy, Bloom released her attack.

"Dragon Fire Flare!" shouted Bloom. A thick beam of fire came from Bloom and blasted the Man in Black, creating a huge explosion.

But, once again the Man in Black proved to be much tougher than the Winx had anticipated. Before the resulting cloud of smoke even vanished, a black beam of energy came from it, hitting Bloom and throwing her through a window of the Royal Palace.

"BLOOM!" yelled Sky, who saw what happened to his fiancé. He immediately dropped what he was doing and regrouped with the Winx. The rest of the specialists did so as well.

"You are powerful, that's for sure," said the Man in Black. "But your attacks are slow and straightforward, and that make them easy to predict. You lack style and a sense of strategy. You pound your enemies with your mighty spells until they can't resist anymore. Well, I'm sorry, but that won't work on me. Now, if you excuse me, Bloom and I have some... matters to discuss."

And thus having spoke, the Man in Black kicked down the door of the Royal Palace, and walked in.

"Let's go in!" yelled Stella, but before the blond fairy could follow the Man in Black, a shower of blue fire stood in her way.

"Sorry, but you aren't going anywhere," said Neyra. "Dance of the Raging Flames!"

Neyra created a torrent of flames that quickly shattered into smaller balls of fire. The fireballs started flying at random, leaving trails of fire and smoke. The fireballs dived at the Winx and specialists, who protected themselves with shield spells and swords, respectively. However, they knew that they couldn't stay like that. Tecna quickly studied and saw that the fireballs followed a pattern, and that Neyra was probably directing them.

"We have to attack Neyra!" said Tecna. "She's controlling the fireballs. If we knock her down I'm sure they will disappear."

"Leave it to me," said Flora. The nature fairy closed her eyes and concentrated. Vines and roots grew under the fire witch's feet and wrapped against her legs. She lost her focus, and like Tecna predicted, the fireballs disappeared.

"Good job," said Marco. "Now it's my turn: Echo Slash!"

Marco made a slashing motion with his phantoblade, springing forth a crescent shaped golden beam of energy at the witch. However, Kharel stood between her teammate and the deadly beam in the nick of time, and used his sword to absorb the attack like he did with Bloom. Kharel smiled smugly, and Marco frowned.

Kharel, ready to counterattack, raised his sword, which glowed with a blue shine, but before he could claim anybody's power, Helia used his string glove to tie his hands together. Taking advantage of the moment, Timmy pulled out his gun, and with an accurate shot to his foe's blade, disarmed the knight. Two more shots to the chest and Kharel was down, although not dead.

"Great shot, Timmy!" beamed Tecna.

"This is our chance! Let's go in!" said Sky, and rushed inside the Palace.

"I'm right behind you, bro!" said Brandon.

"I'm going too," said Stella, following the boys.

Mirta suddenly remembered the fight in Cloud Tower. The Man in Black has proved to be scary, but in a closed place, he could be lethal.

"Wait, don't go in there! It's too dangerous!" said Mirta, flying right behind them.

"Mirta, wait!" said Marco, rushing after her.

"Let's go everybody!" said Aisha. But before she could follow her teammates, a huge undead dragon, called a bonewyrm, suddenly landed in front of the main door, blocking the entrance. He bellowed fiercely, as if saying that nobody else would enter.

"If all of you go, who's left to have fun with us?" asked Gaul innocently. He snapped his fingers, and all the wraiths scattered around the place gathered around him. Gaul raised his arms, and the wraiths began to spin around him in circles, while chanting in a language unknown to the living. A glimmering white ball of light appeared above the Lich.

"Marvel and despair at the deadly magic I command!" boasted the Lich. "Nether Light Beams!"

A beam came from the glittering sphere, directly at the fairies, but they dodged it in time. However, more beams were fired in rapid succession. When the beams of light hit the ground, it sounded like a wail. The grass died instantly. Gaul cackled maniacally upon seeing all the damage he was causing. Musa fell to the ground.

"Musa! Are you okay?" said Riven, worried.

"That noise... please make it stop!" cried Musa while she covered her ears with her hands.

"Guys, we have to do something!" yelled Riven.

"I'm on it!" said Nabu, raising his staff, which glowed purple, an unequivocal sign that the wizard was about to cast a spell. "Black Hole Shield!"

Nabu erected a shield around himself, but this wasn't a regular shield; it drew all the attacks to itself. Nabu forced Gaul to target him in order to give the others a chance, and this didn't go unnoticed by the Lich.

Losing no time, Aisha, Tecna and Flora fired beams of energy at the Lich, who was still forced to attack the wizard. The beams then interwove around each other, forming a bigger beam. Gaul canceled the spell and countered with another beam. The two attacks clashed against each other, pushing back and forth.

While this was taking place, Riven dashed at the Lich, who was still focused on the girls, and activated his phantoblade once again. When he was near the undead mage, he jumped into mid air with a somersault, and sliced through the Lich's neck. His beam of energy stopped, and so did the fairies. Gaul's skull fell to the ground.

"One freak less," said Riven, deactivating his phantoblade.

"Wow Riven, that was great!" said Musa, proud of him.

"Of course it was," said Riven, sporting an arrogant shrug. "Now let's get rid of the rest so we can help Sky and the others."

However, Nabu felt there was something wrong with the Lich. His body still stood on its feet, and could feel the negative energy still flowing from it. He was about to warn Riven, but it was too late.

Before everybody's incredulous eyes, Gaul's beheaded body turned at Riven, and blasted him with a dark spell. Then, the Lich parsimoniously felt around the grass until he found his head, and put it back.

"Now, I must admit that that was a nice try. Nobody has been so close to me in years. Shall we continue?" asked the Lich.

The Winx looked at each other. They'll need stronger attacks to defeat this enemy.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Eraklyon Royal Palace, Sky, Brandon, Stella, Mirta and Marco were looking for Bloom, walking close to each other.

"Man, where is Bloom?" asked Sky.

"I think that she's on the second floor," said Stella.

"We should worry about where that guy is," said Brandon. "And hope we find Bloom first."

"This is too dangerous. We should leave now!" said Mirta, scared.

"And here I thought that you wanted to protect your friends at any cost," commented Marco.

"Stay alert. Maybe he set an ambush for us," said Sky as he activated his phantoblade, and Brandon and Marco did so as well.

Sky's words turned to be prophetic, since the Man in Black was perched on a chandelier, and fell upon the group, who avoided him just in time. Sky charged against the Man in Black, and engaged in a swordsmanship duel. Sky let his rage take control and attacked with a rapid succession of strong and quick swipes. The Man in Black parried the attacks with ease, while moving back. Brandon attacked, trying to take advantage of the situation and strike the masked man while he was focused on the King of Eraklyon, but much to his surprise, the Man in Black used his free hand to pull out another phantoblade, and parried Brandon's swing. The two specialists kept fighting the Man in Black, while he parried their attacks and countered them with amazing speed.

"We should help them," suggested Mirta.

"Yeah," Stella agreed.

They were about to cast a spell, but they heard a roar that made Mirta freeze in terror. Something knocked down a door that led to other quarters of the palace, and a huge black knight holding a sword that resembled a butcher's knife appeared.

"NOT THAT THING AGAIN!" yelled Mirta in frustration.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him. I already fought him before," said Marco, ready to face the Obsidian Slasher.

"Will you beat him?" asked Stella, hopeful.

"The last time he beat me to pulp," said the paladin, and Stella's optimism vanished. "But I hope that this time things will be different."

"Alright, we'll help Brandon and Sky," said Stella, and she and Mirta flew away.

The black knight charged. The paladin, however, dodged the onslaught, and sliced the back of the knight's leg. However, it only made a scratch. The black knight delivered another deadly swing, but this time the paladin jumped to avoid it, and while in air, roundhoused him, making him drop his weapon. Then Marco clamped his fist, which began to glow with a golden light.

"Fist of Justice!" yelled the paladin, while smashing his fist on the knight's chest.

The attack was powerful enough to knock the knight backwards some meters, but aside from that it only left a small cracked dent. This guy wasn't just immune to magic, but extraordinarily resistant to physical attacks. This was going to be a long fight.

Meanwhile, Stella and Mirta flew over Sky, Brandon, and the Man in Black and fired beams of energy at the latter. The Man in Black flipped backwards, dodging the attacks. From a prudent distance, he prepared his next move. A black ball of energy appeared between his hands. Mirta immediately knew what he was going to do.

"Release, Flames of the Black Sun!" said the Man in Black.

Black blazes of fire began to spread everywhere, while the Man in Black escaped. They tried to follow him, but the black fire had already surrounded them.

"What the hell is this?" asked Sky.

"I've seen this before, in Cloud Tower," Mirta said. "It's a special kind of fire that will consume everything, and not even fairy dust can put it out!"

"This is weird. There isn't any smoke," commented Brandon. "Although it is getting a bit hot in here..."

"Why does everything looks darker?" asked Stella.

"It seems that this fire consumes light itself," reasoned Sky.

"Anyway, I need some light to find a way out!"

Stella raised her hands and summoned a ball of white light. Suddenly, the flames weakened.

"Stella, that's it! The light kills the black fire!" said Mirta, overjoyed to see that they still had a chance. "We need more light!"

"That won't be a problem," said Stella, elevating a few meters. She raised her scepter, which began to glow with a silver light. "White Moon!"

A strong, blinding white light came from Stella's scepter that made Mirta, Sky and Brandon shield their eyes. When the light was gone, they saw that the black flames were gone.

"Come on, we have to find Bloom," urged Sky, and rushed to the first floor.

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Bloom, who was badly injured, used her little remaining force to stand up. Then she pleaded with the Great Dragon for help, and her prayer was answered in no time. An orange light enveloped her body, and she felt her power return. Like time going backwards the lost blood returned to her body through her open cuts, and these closed, leaving nothing but unblemished skin. The bruises faded away. Bloom was now ready to continue.

She heard some noises coming from below. There was a huge fight going on there. She discerned some familiar voices, and figured that they came to find her. She walked, trying to follow the direction of the voices.

"Geez, I wish I was Musa," said Bloom, thinking of her friend's ability to pinpoint a sound's origin.

Suddenly, something tore down a nearby wall. Bloom heard an inhuman roar, and saw a huge black knight wielding a morning star. She knew him well enough to know that fighting was useless.

"This is not my day," said Bloom, and started running away from the destructive golem, who started chasing her.

Back in the hall, Marco was still fighting the Obsidian Slasher. He disarmed him, but this time he wouldn't let his guard down, since the black knight would fight with everything. He then saw the cracked dent on his chest. Maybe that guy was insanely strong, but he could be harmed. And now he knew how.

Speed was essential. The paladin rushed at the black knight, and it waited for him to attack. Like he predicted, the golem tried to strike him with a direct punch. Marco ducked it, and launched his attack.

"Fist of Justice!"

The explosion of yellow energy knocked the knight backwards, but also made the crack and dent bigger.

"Just one more time," Marco thought.

The black knight charged again, and this time it tried to slam Marco with both fists, but the paladin was able to dodge it again.

"Fist of Justice!"

The last attack made a considerable hole in the knight's chest. It was far from defeated, but the hardest part of Marco's strategy was complete. Now for the killing blow. Gathering all his courage and strength, he pulled a small, metallic, cylindrical item from one of his bags, and rushed towards the black knight again. The black knight tried to hammer Marco with both fists, but the paladin dodged it again. He then jumped and stuck the object on the knight's chest. The device began to beep.

"Good bye."

The small item encrusted in the knight's chest exploded, reducing him to a pile of rocks and iron shards. He had won, but he was also breathless. That black knight had been a formidable foe. He spent some minutes getting his breath back, and then went to the upper floor to rejoin the others.

Back on the second floor, Bloom was fleeing from the iron giant. Despite being so heavy, he was rather fast, and Bloom was unable to leave him behind.

"Bloom!" said known voice.

"Sky!" replied bloom, glancing around, "Where are you?"

Bloom saw Sky, followed by Brandon, Stella and Mirta coming from a corridor.

"Bloom, are you okay?" asked Sky, hugging her.

"Yes, now that you're here," said Bloom.

"WATCH OUT!" yelled Brandon, upon seeing the Obsidian Smasher charging at them.

"I have an idea! Quickly, aim at his feet!" said Mirta.

Both Bloom and Stella remembered how Mirta and Flora temporary defeated one of those monsters by making him to fall to the lower floor. The three fairies cast energy beams at the knight's feet, and like they predicted, the floor collapsed under his feet.

However, what was not predicted is that the entire floor would collapse, making Sky and Brandon fall as well. Horrified, the fairies immediately went to check if they were okay.

"Sky! Are you alright?" asked Bloom, worried.

"I've been better," replied Sky bitterly.

"Come on, we have to go back to the front yard, and reunite with the others," said Stella, helping Brandon stand up.

"Wait, what about Marco?" asked Mirta.

"I'm here," said Marco, walking in.

"Marco! How did you find us?"

"Easy. I just followed the screams and the destruction."

"Anyway, Stella's right, we have to abandon the palace before that freak finds us," urged Bloom.

"Too late for that," said the Man in Black's voice, and they whirled, watching while he walked in. He then raised both arms and shouted "Black Thunder!"

Black lightning came from his hands, striking everybody, and rendering most of them unconscious. The Man in Black walked over and picked up Sky, putting him on his back. Bloom, who was still conscious, watched the scene in horror.

"Please...I'll do whatever you want...but...don't...harm him..." begged Bloom.

The Man in Black cackled in return. "Oh, wait, you still think I was after you, don't you?" the masked man laughed again. "And don't worry, I won't harm Sky. We're simply going for a ride."

And Bloom watched as the Man in Black left the room with Sky. She called the Great Dragon again, and hoped that she could save her fiancé before it was too late.

Back in the front yard, Mirage had resumed her fight against Tecna who was aided by Timmy, while Gaul faced Nabu, Aisha, Musa and Riven. Flora and Helia dealt with Neyra. Kharel was still on the ground, unconscious.

Mirage then heard a voice in her head.

"_Mirage, it's me" _The Man in Black said. _"I have King Sky. Pick me up in five minutes. I'll be on the roof of the palace."_

"_Uh, sure, I'll go right now,"_ Mirage replied. She then looked at Tecna, who was ready to attack. "Well, this was fun, but sadly, I have to go. Duty calls."

"Do you think you can escape from me so easily?" Tecna asked, defiantly.

"Yes," was Mirage's only answer.

Tecna heard a fiery roar above her, and looked upwards to see a bonewyrm diving at her position. The technological fairy had to fly back in order to avoid the undead beast. Mirage climbed the bone dragon, and sat on its neck. The bonewyrm then took off and flew toward the palace.

"Tecna!" said Timmy, rushing to her, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, that monster didn't made any attempt to attack me. They have a different target," said Tecna.

"It's heading to the palace."

"The palace! That's where Bloom and the others are right now! We have to warn them!" the fairy of technology lost no time and pulled out her badge. "Bloom, this is Tecna! Do you copy? Bloom!"

…

Bloom was healing Stella when she heard her badge beeping, but she didn't stop her task to answer. Once Stella was alright, then she decided to answer. When she activated her badge, it displayed a hologram of Tecna.

"Finally!" said Tecna, sighing in relief.

"Tecna, what do you want? That guy just kidnapped Sky!" said Bloom in an irritated tone. Tecna gasped upon hearing this.

"I wanted to inform you that one of those undead dragons landed on the palace's roof, so you should be careful," said Tecna. "How are the others?"

Bloom immediately knew what was going on. She shut off her badge, and hurried everybody to stand up.

"Come on, we need to go to the roof!" said Bloom.

"Why?" asked Mirta.

"That's where the Man in Black is going! There's a dragon waiting for him there. If we're too late, he will take Sky away!"

Bloom didn't need to say any more. Everybody stood up and followed her to the roof of the palace.

…

Meanwhile, the Man in Black was already on the roof of the palace in front of the now passive bonewyrm and its female rider. He tossed Sky to the ground. Mirage frowned upon seeing him.

"You weren't supposed to kill him," said Mirage.

"He isn't dead. I took great care of that not happening," the Man in Black reassured her.

"Well, he isn't going to be of any help if you put him in a coma," the psychic witch replied.

"He's just fine," said the man in Black, visibly annoyed. Mirage knew that it would be better for her to shut up.

The Man in Black climbed the dragon and sat on its neck, right in front of Mirage. Suddenly, at that very moment, Bloom and the others burst in.

"YOU! Leave Sky alone NOW!" yelled Bloom.

"I'm sorry, but the good king and I have some matters to settle," the Man in Black replied.

The bonewrym flapped his immense wings, raised powerful winds, and rose into the air. With one of its front legs he scooped up Sky's unconscious body and flew away.

"Damn! We were too late!" complained Stella.

"Wait, where are they going?" asked Marco.

Suddenly, Brandon realized their plan. "They're taking him to the Pantheon of the Kings!".

"What's that?" asked Mirta.

"It's a place where Eraklyon's magical essence is stored. It has strong defenses, but the current King of Eraklyon can deactivate them," the squire explained.

Everything started to make sense. The Man in Black was Valtor's apprentice, and Valtor was known for assaulting planets looking for their magical essence and other knowledge. The Man in Black was doing exactly the same. He pretended to go after Bloom to draw all the attention from Sky. Now he had the only key to a great power. The plan was almost flawless.

"Then we lost," said Marco, saddened. "He fooled us, and got what he wanted."

"Don't panic, we still have a chance!" said Stella. "If we are able to get there first, we can save Sky and protect the Pantheon."

"And how are we going to do that? We can fly, but can't carry Brandon and Marco. Besides, there's no way we can fly fast enough to take the lead," Bloom said. "Unless we spontaneously grow new wings that can allow us to fly faster or teleport."

"Well, you've close," said Stella, spinning her scepter. "Maybe we don't have those kind of wings, but I have an scepter that can take us anywhere!"

"Did I ever tell you how marvelous you are, Stella?" beamed Brandon.

"Many times, but I still love when you do," grinned Stella. "To the Pantheon of the Kings!"

Stella hit the ground with the lower end of the scepter and created a field of golden light. When the light vanished, everybody could see they weren't on the palace's roof anymore.

…

Not far from there, up in the air, the Man in Black, Mirage and the unconscious Sky flew their way to the Pantheon.

"Master, I sense something," said Mirage, touching her head with two fingers. "The Winx somehow arrived there first."

"A minor setback," said the man in Black dismissively. "This is what we'll do: I'll fight them long enough for you to awaken Sky and force him to open the gates of the Pantheon."

"I agree."

"Once you've done that," the Man in Black's tone revealed that he hadn't finished yet. "We'll swap places, and you'll have to protect me. During something less than three minutes, I'll be completely vulnerable."

"Don't worry, just leave them to me," said Mirage with a smirk. "I won't fail you."

"I know you won't."

Despite the compliment, Mirage suspected there was some sort of threat between those words.

…

Back in the Pantheon...

"They're coming!" announced Mirta.

Brandon and Marco activated their phantoblades, while Bloom, Stella and Mirta elevated in mid air to take the high ground. The Man in Black, like he did before, jumped from the bonewyrm and landed on the ground, making a huge tremor. Mirage jumped at the time the bonewyrm released Sky from its grip, but the psychic witch used her powers to slow their fall and they landed safely.

The Man in Black, aided by his bonewyrm, started to fight against the three fairies, the specialist and the paladin while Mirage awakened Sky.

"Uh...what the...?" mumbled Sky.

"Sky, dear, can you hear me?" asked Mirage, while waving his hand in front of Sky's eyes, and whispering a spell.

"Who-who are you?"asked Sky.

"It's me, Bloom. Your girlfriend." said Mirage.

"Oh. What are we doing here?"

"It's just that I wanted to visit the Pantheon. Why don't you open it for me?"

"S-sure, just a minute..."

Sky stood up with Mirage's help, and hobbled to the door. The door was big, made of stone, with many bas-reliefs of knights and fairies fighting against monsters, as well as inscriptions in an archaic tongue. There was also a circle in the middle. Sky placed his hand on the circle, and the door started to open slowly. Before it seemed to be one piece without a crack.

"_Master, I'm done!_" announced Mirage in jubilation.

In a blink, Mirage was suddenly in the middle of a fight between the fairies and the bonewyrm, while the Man In Black was in the entrance of the Pantheon.

"_Geez, he could let me know when he's about to use a place swap spell,"_ the witch thought. But now there was no time for complaining. This was the last part of the plan. If she failed to hold the Winx out of the Pantheon, the consequences for her would be unimaginable.

…

The Pantheon of the Kings is the place where all the kings and queens of Eraklyon are buried. It was a large, circular place with niches, but there was also stairs that lead to the catacombs, where most of the tombs rested. But what the Man in Black was looking for was right in front of him.

In the center of the entrance there's a statue of Erakles the Strong, the very first king of Eraklyon. The first inhabitants of Eraklyon decided to colonize the planet due to its massive and fertile lands, thick forests, crystal clear lakes and rivers and huge mineral deposits. However, they soon came to realize that the planet was also inhabited by monstrous and dangerous animals. That's why the first colonizers of Eraklyon were forced to live like nomads, always escaping from the deadly predators that roamed the land.

However, there was a man who decided that the time for fleeing was done and to fight the monsters. Everybody said that he was a fool and suicidal, but they were forced to take back their words when he returned from his first hunt with the head of a monster. Then he continued killing more beasts in order to ensure the safety of his people. It seemed that, with each monster he slew, he became stronger. People even went as far as saying that he was the son of a god. The name of this man was Erakles.

He was appointed the ruler of that land, married a beautiful woman and had many children. However, knowing that he wouldn't live forever, and fearing that once he died his people would be exposed to dangers, he asked a wizard to turn him into stone so he could watch his land, that was named Eraklyon in his honor, for all the eternity. The Pantheon was built around the statue some generations afterwards. Even non-magic users can feel the strong energy that the statue irradiates.

Energy that the Man in Black plans to corrupt.

"By the power of the Black Sun, the Heart of Oblivion and the Dark Lords of Thaluskan, let the power of this world belong to me and my ancestors!" the Man in Black recited.

The Heart of Oblivion fired a dark beam at the statue of Erakles, which started to slowly turn black. The process would take him some minutes. If Mirage failed in her task, it would mean their failure.

However, nothing interrupted him. The statue turned completely black. Eraklyon was his.

…

Meanwhile outside the Pantheon the fight continued, but the Winx stopped when they realized that something was wrong.

"Hey, do you feel it?" asked Bloom.

"Yes! A great darkness is spreading at an alarming fast rate!" said Mirta, overwhelmed by this sensation.

"What's going on?" asked Stella.

"You lost, that's what happened," said Mirage with a wide, malicious grin.

Suddenly, the sky turned dark red. The ground started to tremble as rivers of lava flowed to the surface and nearby trees blackened. It was a horrid image.

The Man in Black stepped out of the Pantheon, and looked at Sky, who was barely able to move.

"Well, thank you, Sky. Now your beautiful world is mine," chuckled the Man in Black. "Unfortunately, you also have outlived your usefulness. So, what do you think about becoming one with Eraklyon?"

And, to everybody's horror, the Man in Black lifted Sky's body over his head, and tossed it toward the lava. However, Bloom was fast enough to catch Sky in mid air. The Man in Black grinned behind his mask.

"Oh, I see that you want to die with him," said the masked man, upon seeing Bloom struggling with Sky's heavy body. He cast his hand forward, ready to cast a spell.

"Star Fall!" yelled Stella's voice.

The Man in Black was showered by a volley of starlight missiles that forced him to move back. And, before he could react, he was hit by a silver beam of light. Upon standing up, he saw Stella, staring at him with fire in her eyes.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM!" bellowed the Fairy of the Sun.

"You just volunteered for an exemplary punishment," the Man in Black declared.

Stella saw a black blur of motion, and the next moment the Man in Black was standing next to her. The jewel in his chest glowed intensely.

"MIND VORTEX!" the masked man yelled.

Stella was surrounded by a purple light, was elevated in mid air, and screamed. Beams of light came from her mouth and eyes. Once the spell finished, Stella's motionless body, no longer in her fairy form, fell to the ground.

"What did you do to her!" yelled bloom.

"You'll know soon, but don't worry, I left her alive. Let this be a warning," the Man in Black said. "Don't interfere with my plans again, ever."

"Undead are coming!" warned Marco. "We can't fight anymore! Retreat!"

Mirta picked Stella's body, and fled with the rest.

Hours later, the Winx club and the specialists were in the _Prometheus_, leaving Eraklyon. Gaul's undead army had crushed the defenders of the palace, who were forced to retreat. But the real defeat lay on the fact that the Man in Black was somehow able to infect Eraklyon with his evil magic.

All of them were exhausted, tired and aching. Sky and Stella were in the ship's sick ward. Sky recovered consciousness shortly after, but Stella stayed unconscious for an entire day.

Brandon was sitting beside Stella's bed when she finally awake. He was excited to see Stella squirming, and opening her eyes. But the Man in Black had left them one last horrible surprise.

"Stella! It's so great that you finally awakened!" said Brandon in joy. But Stella looked at him with confused eyes.

"Stella? Who's Stella?" asked the blond. "And who are you? And where am I?" Stella looked around, frightened. "What is this place? Why I can't remember anything?"

* * *

**Author's note: **So, the Winx suffered a massive defeat. Will they be able to recover? Well, hopefully they will!

Ugh, I'm so happy that the battle of Eraklyon is finally over. It was fun, but towards the end was a real load, and couldn't see the moment to end. Well, there won't be battles for a while, since now it's time for recovery and some character development.

You know, after rereading this chapter again, it made me reconsider the direction of this story, since I realized that the story would become too depressing (if you think that what I did to Stella was bad, you had no idea of what horrors I had in store for Musa, but now I think that I'm not going to do that). Fortunately, it won't imply major changes in the original storyline or the plot.

All what's left is to thank everybody who was reviewed so far, and don't miss the next chapter!


	18. Exodus From Eraklyon

******Chapter 18: Exodus********from Eraklyon**

"Hi, this is Eve Holyfield for the Magix News Network," said a short-haired blond woman in a light gray outfit over a white shirt. "Our top news, Eraklyon has been invaded by an unnamed armed force composed of wizards and witches that commanded the undead. This information is tentative, awaiting confirmation. Some reports also say that members of this group were responsible for the attacks on magical libraries and archives of many worlds."

"The fairies known as the Winx Club, famous for impressive feats such as defeating the Army of Decay and putting an end to Valtor's reign of terror, were on the planet at that moment, but were unable to save it from the invading force. There's also no news of the whereabouts of the Eraklyon Royal Family. Upon this event, many other worlds, especially those near Eraklyon, have dramatically increased their military activity in case more attacks happen. In other news-"

Tecna switched off her TV angrily, and walked away from her room. The bridge's door hissed open and she walked in to find Timmy, who was busy doing nothing. Upon noticing his girlfriend, he turned to her and asked:

"So, where are we going now?"

Tecna sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know."

"But... we can't stay in the middle of space forever," replied Timmy. "We need to choose a new place to go, and we have to do it soon."

"I know, Timmy," said Tecna. "But, after what happened on eraklyon, nobody wants to go to any of their home worlds. They're afraid that the Eraklyon incident may happen again. And as for myself, my thoughts are the same."

This was one of the few times in which Tecna didn't know what to do. She felt...helpless. And she _hated _when she felt that way. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel responsible for not seeing through the Man in Black's plan. She was smarter than this! There was also the corruption of Eraklyon. She, as well as any other magic sensitive person present, felt an overwhelming dark force engulfing the planet, and it was such a horrible feeling it left a scar on their souls.

Timmy wished he could come up with something to cheer Tecna up, and possibly the others, but he couldn't. Timmy would always come up with a clever plan or a useful gadget at need, but this wasn't such a moment. Relationships weren't his strong point. He stood up from his chair, and came closer to Tecna.

"Hey, Tec," Timmy said, while stroked Tecna's cheek. "I... I wish I could help in some way, but I'm afraid I can't, and... and the only thing I can say is that you have me," Tecna looked at him in the eyes. "If you need something, or need to talk, even if you don't want to... I'll be there for you."

Tecna didn't reply. She simply hugged Timmy, and rested her head and his shoulder.

"We have to do something about Stella..." the magenta-haired girl said, almost in a whisper.

…

Sky was in his cabin, looking at the vast emptiness of space while trying to assimilate the events of the last 24 hours. Eraklyon, his beloved home world, was gone, tainted by dark magic and in the hands of a lunatic from the Ancient Witch Coven. He couldn't help but think of his parents. Would they be okay? He wished he could know. And what happened to the Royal Staff and the rest of the populace?

The door of his cabin hissed open. The former king turned around to see his fiancé.

"Hello, Sky," said Bloom. "Are you... are you okay?"

Sky frowned. "No, Bloom, I'm not okay."

Bloom sighed, and averted her eyes. She then said: "If it's any consolation... I know how you feel."

Sky crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Do you?" Sky's sarcastic tone didn't please Bloom.

"Of course I do! Don't you remember that Domino was a frozen wasteland for almost twenty years! I also lost my home world!" yelled Bloom.

"Come on Bloom, that's a lie and you know it!" Sky yelled back. "You were just a baby during the downfall of Domino. You didn't witness with your own eyes how your home fell apart. You never lived there, nor met your parents! Hell, you didn't even _know_ that you were a native of Domino! You had a comfortable life on Earth with two people that raised and loved you. But, unlike you, I only have one home, and that doesn't exist anymore, so don't tell me that you know how I feel because you don't!"

Bloom was overwhelmed by Sky's tirade. She had never seen her fiancée in such a bad mood, but given the circumstances, it was understandable. When Sky's anger faded, he saw Bloom's scared eyes, and realized what he's done.

"Bloom, sorry..." said Sky in a softer voice, coming close to Bloom. "I shouldn't snap at you like that. This isn't your fault."

"It isn't your fault either," said Bloom, trying to reassure Sky. "We fought with all our energies, there's nothing to feel ashamed of."

"You're wrong, Bloom. It _is_ my fault," Sky replied. "I was the King of Eraklyon. I was supposed to protect my world, yet not only I failed in my duty, but ran away like a coward!"

"It was pointless to stay there, wasn't it?" asked Bloom.

Sky didn't want to mention that it was his determination to protect Bloom that made him ignore that the enemy set that as a bait, and he swallowed it. But he knew that Bloom would feel guilty if he told her, and more pain wasn't necessary.

"Sky," Bloom held her fiancé's hands. "I know that you feel miserable, but if you want to prove that you're a good King, you have to stop moping and do something to restore your Kingdom."

Sky admitted that Bloom was right.

"Okay, any idea how are we going to do it?"

"I don't have a clue," said Bloom with a shrug. "But we'll think something. If I – if _we_ – were able to restore Domino, we can do the same for Eraklyon."

Sky was forced to smile, and Bloom smiled in return.

"Soon Eraklyon will be free from that apprentice of Valtor's. Just wait and see."

Sky wanted to believe in Bloom's words, although much time would have to pass before they had a chance to reclaim Eraklyon.

...

Stella was in the ship's living room, sitting on a couch. No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to recall any memories. She suddenly awoke inside a spaceship full of strangers. They told her who she was and how she lost her memory, but she had some doubts. Everything was so... confusing.

She didn't remember the girls who said they were her friends nor the brown haired man who claimed to be her boyfriend. Sure, he was cute but... his image didn't tell her anything. But what about her parents? Or her home? Or any other memory? Everything was gone...

The doors hissed open, and Brandon walked in.

"Hey, Stella," said Brandon, not very cheerful. Stella turned to him. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Stella replied. "Well, as fine as anybody without her memories, Brendan."

"Brandon," he corrected.

"Hey, I still have some troubles with the names, okay? You're a numerous bunch," Stella protested.

Unlike Sky, Brandon didn't think of what happened to Eraklyon, despite it being his home world too. Sure, he was shocked and saddened, but Stella's loss of memory took all his thoughts.

"Wait, you were the one who said he my boyfriend, right?" Brandon nodded. "How was our first meeting?"

"Well, I saved you from a runaway troll," said Brandon. He'll never forget that moment. "Do you know what a troll is?"

"Yes," Stella replied dryly. "And, why did you do that?"

"Because it was my duty. I'm a specialist, that's what I do," Brandon said. "But I'd do it anyway even if I wasn't one."

Stella smiled softly. "I bet you'd do it. You look to be brave."

"You're very brave too," Brandon complimented back. "I'm sure that, over time, you'll remember that. Among other things."

Stella was silent. She gazed around, and then back at Brandon. The specialist could perceive fear in her honey eyes.

"Are you afraid of something?" asked Brandon, but then realized that that was a stupid question.

"Yes," Stella reply without hesitation. "Anywhere I look, I only see strangers who say they my friends, but are strangers nevertheless. Sometimes I feel that I want to escape from this iron casket you call a ship, but then I realize that I don't know any safe place to go. I don't know who I am, nor what to do."

"I wish I could do something to relieve you," said Brandon sincerely.

"Oh, you already do," Stella said.

"Really? What?"

"Being here. With me," Stella replied. She then got up and came closer to Brandon. "I don't know why but your presence... it has a soothing effect on me. And when you're here... I feel something close to safety."

That made Brandon smile, even if it was only a bit.

"Anyway, let's stop moping!" declared Stella in an energetic way. "I'm getting bored over here. Can you find a book for me, please?"

Brandon raised an eyebrow.

"Did I said something funny?" Stella got annoyed.

"No, but it's just that... let's say that you're not very fond of books," said Brandon. "You're more about fashion magazines."

"Oh, well... bring me a fashion magazine then," said Stella.

Brandon stood up. "You know what? I'll bring you both."

While Brandon exited the living room, Mirta walked in, and the specialist and the half witch exchanged looks. Brandon was strangely happy.

"Hello, Stella," said Mirta.

"Oh, hi Marta," Stella said.

"It's Mirta."

Stella replied with an annoyed grunt.

"Anyway, I came here to see how you are, or if you need anything," said Mirta.

"Don't worry about that, I already sent Brandon to pick me up a couple of things, but thanks," said Stella. "You guys are really caring."

"Speaking of Brandon, he looked quite happy, considering what happened to Eraklyon... and what happened to you," said Mirta.

"Oh, that's because I told him something that cheered him up," said Stella with a satisfied grin.

"What was that, exactly?" asked Mirta.

"Well, I told him that his mere presence makes me feel comfortable and even happy. That boy really needed something to lighten his mood."

"Do you honestly think that?" asked Mirta.

"Of course I do!" said Stella.

Mirta then opened her eyes wide. Inside her brain, an idea was starting to take form. Once she knew what it was, she smiled, and rushed away from the room.

"That girl is crazy," Stella said.

…

Inside Musa's cabin, Musa and Riven were lying in Musa's bed, fully clothed. Musa was asleep, with her arms wrapped around Riven's neck. He could hear her breathing. Both of them got a good share of punishment in the battle of Eraklyon, but Riven got the worst part. The Lich's blast left him an ugly scare on his back, that not even Bloom nor Flora were able to completely remove with their healing powers. It still hurt him.

Without moving, and taking great care not to awaken Musa, Riven placed his hand oi his pocket, and picked out his toy. Upon touching it, the clear marble acquired many colors, mostly shades of red, purple and pink, forming a coil.

"It's beautiful, indeed," said Musa. Riven gasped upon hearing her.

"I thought you were asleep," said Riven.

"I'm a light sleeper," replied Musa.

"Uh, Musa..."

"Yes?"

"Thanks for not telling the others that I picked this up in the Forge," said Riven.

"Oh, it's alright," said Musa, smiling. "I did that because I'm waiting for _you_ to tell the others about it."

Riven frowned. "Oh, come on Musa, you know that I can't do that. What will the others would say?"

"You should thought that before taking things that don't belong to you," said Musa sternly. "That's very un-hero-like."

"Okay, I will," Riven said, defeated. "But... give me some time, okay? I want to choose the right moment."

"Alright, but don't put it off indefinitely, or else...!" threatened Musa.

"You have my word," said Riven. "But I think that you overreact. What harm can this little marble do?"

Even if Musa was wary about the artifact, neither she, and much less Riven, were aware of the immense power that marble held.

…

"Tea's ready."

Helia brought four cups of tea to the kitchen's only table, where Flora was sat along with Aisha and Nabu. Like the rest of the girls, Flora and Aisha were very affected by their defeat at Eraklyon. Helia noticed that her girlfriend's eyes, usually bright and lively, were sad and hollow.

"Come on, drink. It will make you feel better," said Helia, picking up his cup of tea.

"If you say so..." said Flora, and she did the same.

Helia decided to stop fooling around, and talked to his girlfriend directly.

"Flora, I know that defeat is hard to assimilate, and then there's Stella," said Helia, placing a hand on Flora's free one. "But, sooner or later, all of you have to recover. Besides, I'm sure that this isn't the first time you lost to an enemy."

"Yeah, we got knocked down, but we stand up again. It's what we always do," said Aisha.

"It's not that," replied Flora. "You know, when Eraklyon was corrupted, I heard millions of voices in my head. Voices calling for help. Voices in pain. And then... silence."

Helia didn't know what to say.

"Helia, I've heard those voices before, like when a fire or a torrential rain destroys a forest, but this... it was too much."

"I know how you feel," Aisha said. "When Valtor invaded Andros, he turned all the mermaids and other sea life into monsters. I wasn't linked to them, but it was really painful to witness."

"But we found a way to return the mermaids back to normal, didn't we?" asked Nabu. "I'm sure that we will restore Eraklyon and all its forests as well."

"Yes. Yes, you're right. There's no point in staying here brooding. We're fairies, and we have a duty to protect the universe from evil. Maybe we failed to protect Eraklyon, but we won't fail again!"

"That's the spirit!" said Aisha. Flora smiled shyly.

"Anyway, what about you guys?" asked Flora. "I heard that Lich hit you pretty hard."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever fought against such a skilled wizard before, not counting Valtor," said Nabu. "But this guy scares me more than anything I've ever come across."

"Why? Because he's a living skeleton?" Aisha ventured to guess.

"You could say that," said Nabu. "You see, like Valtor, there are lots of people who are willing to do crazy things for the sake of obtaining power, such as sacrificing loved ones or ravaging entire civilizations, but this guy...he turned _himself_ into an undead, just for the sake of power and immortality. I mean, just how twisted does somebody have to be to do that?"

"Yes, if he did that to himself, I wonder what he would do to other people," Helia said.

"During the days we studied at Cloud Tower, we learned that some witches sealed pacts with demons in exchange for power. However, this power corrupted them to the point of becoming something closer to demons themselves," said Aisha. "It isn't rare among practitioners of dark magic to do something like that."

"Still, I can't picture Lucy or other Cloud Tower witches we've met doing such a horrible thing," said Flora. "To give up on their humanity for power..."

"Well, it's something natural," Nabu said.

"What do you mean by _natural_?" asked Aisha.

"Magic is a wonderful force. It allows us to do practically anything we can imagine, albeit in a limited way. Now, think of the people who don't have magic. Wouldn't you feel superior to them?" asked Nabu.

"Of course not!" Flora protested. "Magic is a gift that we use to help people, not for selfish purposes!"

"Yeah, that's what differentiates fairies from witches," added Aisha. "Not that I mean witches are egotistical... at least not all of them."

"Well, there are people who sadly do think like that. They do feel superior to the rest of the people, and will seek more power. This will lead to the belief that being human isn't good enough for them, and will seek to remove their humanity for the sake of becoming something beyond human." Nabu explained.

"So, you're saying that Gaul became like he is now because he didn't feel being human, and he likes being a Lich better?" asked Helia. "I simply can't help but pity people like him, who can't see life as anything more than a quest for power."

Silence.

"Do you think that... it will happen to us too?" asked Flora, a bit scared.

"I don't think so... hopefully," Nabu said.

…

Mirta found Brandon in the ship's small library, looking for any book Stella might enjoy.

"Brandon!" Mirta yelled. The specialist startled upon hearing his name.

"Mirta! Do you want to give me a heart attack?" chastised Brandon. "What do you want?"

"Sorry for yelling, but I think I may have a way to make Stella recover her memories!" said Mirta all excited.

"Really? How?" said Brandon, obviously interested.

However, before Mirta could tell him how, both their badges beeped. They checked them, and saw a text message on them. Timmy was summoning them to the bridge.

…

Minutes later, everybody (sans Stella) were on the bridge, gathered around the holograms of Faragonda and a white haired woman that was identified as Marco's mother, Arthaia.

"Guess you already know what happened on Eraklyon, don't you?" asked Sky.

"Exactly," Faragonda replied. "Although what happened on Eraklyon was a tragedy, I rejoice to see that all of you are fine."

"Well...not all of us," said Bloom sadly.

"Stella lost her memory due to a spell," Tecna clarified before the headmistress could come to a wrong conclusion.

"I see," Faragonda said, pensively.

"Anyway, what do you want, Ms F? I don't think you called us just to see if we were okay," said Musa.

"You're pretty sharp, Musa," Faragonda said. "Yes, there are a couple of things I want to tell you. First of all, the corruption of Eraklyon has resulted in horrible consequences."

"Yeah, we know," said Brandon dryly.

"No, you don't know," Arthaia interjected. "The Man in Black's magic tainted not only the planet, but also all the fairies born there."

"What?" said Bloom, shocked. "That's horrible!"

"How could that happen?" asked Mirta.

"As you know, every fairy has an unbreakable bond with the planet she's born on. If something happens to the planet, the fairies that were born there will be affected too," Arthaia explained.

"Wait, then why didn't anything happen to me when Domino was destroyed?" asked Bloom.

"Because you were a special case," Faragonda interjected. "Domino's magical essence, the Dragon Fire, is within you. Even if the planet was ravaged, its magical essence was safe inside you."

"I see..."

"And what happened to the Eraklyon fairies?" asked Sky, turning back to the hologram.

"They've been transformed into dark fairies. Aberrations of nature twisted by dark magic. Worst of all is that they are now slaves of the Man in Black," Arthaia said.

Aisha remembered when Valtor invaded her home world, and turned most of the mermaids into hideous monsters who were under his control. This guy was indeed his apprentice.

"It's imperative to find a way to revert those fairies back to normal," said Tecna.

"Even if I'm afflicted by such news, we have other things to worry about," said Flora. "I'm afraid that that the Man in Black won't stop until we're all dead."

"And... do you know what are you going to do now?" asked Faragonda.

"We haven't decided yet," said Aisha. "There's a chance that he may be chasing us, and we don't want to put any world at risk."

"Any suggestions?" asked Musa.

"Actually, yes," said Faragonda. "Arthaia here has requested for you to stay on Lumyon for the time being."

Everybody looked at the hologram of Marco's mother.

"Are you sure?" asked Bloom.

"Completely," Arthaia said. "Don't worry about us, our world won't fall if its attacked. But I'm not offering you shelter just for mere protection or comfort. While you're on Lumyon, I'll put all of you through training for the next time you have to face the Man in Black."

There were some murmurs and whispers among the group.

"Marco, you're the only one here whose a native of Lumyon. Do you think it's a safe place to go?" asked Bloom.

"Sure. Lumyon was one of the main military arms of the Company of the Light, and it's magic essence is extremely well-protected. We'll be fine there," said Marco, and then he looked at Bloom. "Besides, it's in the same solar system as Domino."

"Okay. Then Lumyon will be our next destination," Sky declared.

"By the way, Mirta told me that she found a way to recover Stella's memories," Brandon said. Everybody turned to Mirta, interested.

"Is it that true?" asked Flora.

"How? Tell us!" said Musa.

"You see, Stella said that Brandon inspired her safety and comfort. It's obvious that, even if Stella forgot about him- and everybody else-, her feeling for him are still there, only that she doesn't understand those feelings without her memories."

"So, what do you plan to do?" asked Helia.

"I'll try to make her to remember us by empowering those feelings using my magic," said Mirta.

"Are you sure it will work?" asked Tecna.

"Even if we're not sure, it's all we have," said Brandon. "The sooner she regains her memories, the better."

Stella then rushed onto the bridge, all excited like a little kid who got a new toy.

"Guys! You're not going to believe what happened to me!" said Stella, almost yelling. Everybody gasped, thinking in what could be.

"Did you regain your memory?" asked Bloom,

"Even better! Look!"

Stella waved her hands at a couple of small boxes on a table. The boxes glimmered with a golden light, and elevated in air a few centimeters. After a few seconds, the boxes fell.

"I have magic powers! It isn't amazing?"

Everybody stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Mirta, you better get started now," said Brandon dryly.

* * *

**Author's note**: And here starts the new arc. As you can see, this is pretty much a setting for other subplots I'm about to start, like Riven's marble, Mirta working on Stella's memories, and some other things I haven't revealed yet. Yeah, I know that Marco appeared very little in this chapter, but hopefully he will get more focus in the next one. By the way, you know what's funny? I didn't even plan to write anything for Flora, Aisha, Nabu and Helia in this chapter, and it was the part I liked the most.

Anyway, hope that this chapter was up to par, and don't forget to leave a review! ;)


	19. Welcome to Lumyon

**Chapter 19: Welcome to Lumyon**

"Oh boy, do these kings know how to live!" said Neyra while she bit into a turkey leg.

After their victory the Man in Black and his minions decided to make the Eraklyon Royal Palace their new HQ. Neyra, Mirage and Kharel emptied the larders (or at least they tried, since there was food enough to feed a thousand dragons), and were celebrating with a banquet, while the butlers and maids watched them engulf the food.

"God, I was getting sick of hiding in the Omega Dimension like rats! This place is much better suited for us," said Kharel in delight.

"Yeah, we finally have what we deserve," said Mirage. She then glanced at one of the butlers, and smiled wickedly. "Let's have some fun. You!"

The butler froze in place, and paled.

"Are you deaf or what?" asked Neyra. "My sister called for you!"

"I'm- I'm sorry, milady," said the butler, and came near her.

Mirage kept smiling, looking at the butler with her black eyes. The butler was getting more and more frightened. He then felt something under his shirt. Something _alive_, that was _moving_ under his shirt. To his horror, a huge snake came out of the collar of his shirt. The snake opened its mouth, revealing two long fangs that leaked poison. More snakes started to come out from the sleeves of his shirt. The poor butler fell to the ground and rolled, trying to get rid of the snakes.

The servants, on the other hand, watched how that unfortunate butler struggled on the ground, screaming something about snakes. However, those snakes only existed in his mind. The two witches and the knight watched in delight and laughed.

The Man in Black was watching this from behind. Furious, he was about to put an end to such a deplorable spectacle.

"Don't you think they deserve some fun, even if it's just a little?" said a voice behind him.

The Man in Black turned around to see his second in command.

"The kids fought really hard. I know how you feel right now, but cut them some slack," the Lich said.

"You do care a lot for them," the Man in Black observed.

"Oh, no," said Gaul. "It's _impossible_ for me to feel something for other people. But I know that they need this."

The Man in Black descended from a line of sorcerers and dark lords that conquered numerous planets, and ruled them with iron first. He learned that, as time passed, the new generations became less interested in expanding their glorious empire, and more in enjoying the treasures and fortune their predecessors amassed. This attitude brought the empire to an age of decadence. This, of course, wasn't unnoticed by the conquered worlds, which over the years gathered an army in secret, and launched a massive attack when they thought the moment had come. These decadent dark lords were unable to defend their empire, and were wiped out of existence.

The Man in Black wasn't going to let the same thing happen to him. But on the other hand, Gaul was right. Some fun won't harm them.

"Okay. They can celebrate for a day or two," the Man in Black said.

"I'm sure they'll be grateful to you, milord," the Lich replied.

"By the way, Gaul, let me ask you something: what is your goal in life?" the Man in Black asked.

Gaul was taken aback by the question.

"...excuse me? I don't think I follow..." It was a rare time in which the Lich didn't know what was going on.

"It isn't a hard question, especially for such a brilliant mind as yours," the Man in Black mocked. "I'm sure that there's something you want to achieve."

"My goal is yours, Master. My only wish is to serve you."

The Man in Black laughed dryly. "You know, a long time ago I was asked that question by Master Valtor, and my answer was the same."

**Flashback**

_In Whisperia, in the Citadel of the coven, Valtor was alone in his meditation chamber. He was in the lotus position, with his eyes closed. He was brought out of his trance when somebody knocked on the door._

"_Come in," said the sorcerer, standing up to greet his guest. Like he figured, it was the Man in Black. "Ah, I was expecting you, my dear apprentice. What news do you bring?"_

"_It has been reported that the Company is gathering most of their forces on Domino," the Man in Black began. "Our own forces are ready, what are your commands?"_

"_That sounds desperate. They're getting ready for their last stand. We should strike now. But that would be the Ancestresses' decision, don't you think so?" asked Valtor. "Our goal is closer than ever."_

_Valtor exited the meditation chamber, and the Man in Black followed._

"_Tell me, what is your goal?" asked the sorcerer._

"_My only goal is to serve you and the Coven," the Man in Black replied. "You give my life meaning, and that's enough for me."_

"_I'm moved by your loyalty, but servitude isn't a worthy goal, especially for people like you and me. I'm sure that you'll have some plans beyond this organization."_

"_I'm afraid that I have no answer to that, Master. However, may I ask what is your goal?"_

"_Of course. My goal is to become the greatest wizard who ever lived. It will be something hard to accomplish, but I know that it will be worth the effort."_

_They continued walking in silence for some minutes._

"_You know," Valtor spoke again. "It's important to have a goal, but not any goal; something challenging, something that tests our capabilities and pushes our limits. That way, our lives become more meaningful. Remember that this is the very same cause of why your people were vanquished."_

"_I'll bear those words in mind, Master."_

**End Flashback**

"And thus, I set a goal: destroy the ones who eradicated my people so many years ago," said the Man in Black. He walked away from the place, while Gaul was left thinking about his master's words.

…

Meanwhile, far away from Eraklyon, the _Prometheus_ landed on the planet Lumyon.

Lumyon was known as the white planet due to the fact that almost sixty percent of its surface is a vast ocean of ice, due to its cold climate. The Winx and specialists get off the ship wearing thick coats, wool caps and goggles.

While Marco guided them to their new shelter, everybody took a look at the landscape: there were lots of mountains and peaks covered by the constant snowfall. Rare as it seemed, the planet supported a lot of plant life, that due years of evolution adapted to its cold temperature. Everybody noticed that the trees had white bark and sky blue leaves that almost looked like crystals. Squeaking of the birds could be heard from above.

"Boy, this place is so cold!" said Layla, rubbing herself. "You said that this planet was near to Domino."

"And it is," Marco replied. "However, it's further from the sun than Domino, so the weather is much colder."

Bloom snapped at the mention of her birth planet, and gazed at the sky.

"So, tell us, how far is your house?" asked Sky.

"Not far. It's in the peak of that mountain," said Marco, pointing to a nearby mountain where a large building could be seen.

"What?" asked Musa, shocked. "Don't tell me we have to climb a mountain, especially in this cold!"

"Oh, come on, some physical exercise won't kill you," said Riven with a smug smile. Musa glared at him and frowned.

"Don't worry, there's an easier way to get there," said Marco in a soothing tone. "Here we are."

The group was in front of two curved trees that formed an ellipse. Marco took some steps forward, put his hands together like was about to pray, and whispered some words that not even Musa was able to hear. Suddenly, a dimensional portal appeared between the two trees.

"Come on, the gate won't be open for long," hurried the paladin, as he crossed the portal, and the rest of the group followed.

Once they were in the other side of the gate, they coudln't help but look in awe what was before their eyes: they were in front of a huge castle of white marble that erected on the peak of a snowy mountain just like Marco said.

"Wow, this is your house?" asked Brandon in amazement.

"Not just mine," replied Marco. "A lot of people live here, aside from me and my family."

Before they could do anything, the front door of the castle opened, and three fairies who wore white dresses and carried spears and shields greeted them.

"Did they know that we were here?" asked Mirta.

"Yes. The portal notifies the castle when it's being used."

"Welcome home, Marco," said the fairy in the middle. "Please, come in. Lady Arthaia is waiting for you and the guests."

They entered the castle, and felt how the cold disappeared behind them when the doors were closed and locked. The three fairies guided the group through the castle. From the inside, the castle looked much bigger then from the outside. There were no windows, it was laconically decorated and illuminated basically by candles, which contributed to create a gloomy atmosphere, not as much as Cloud Tower, but it definitely lacked Alfea or Red Fountain's cosiness.

"You know, this place really needs some plants," Flora commented. "Not only it would help this place to look more lively, but they'll also purify the air."

"Considering that there's hardly any light, I don't think any plant would be too happy here," said Stella. "Does this people never heard of the windows?"

"It's obvious that this place also needs some major upgrade," said Tecna. "I don't see any electrical supply. No wonder why they still use candles."

"Hey, stop complaining, okay?" asked Layla. "This people offered us a place to stay, and this is how we thank them? You should be more polite. Especially you, Stella, being a princess."

"I am a princess?" asked the blond girl.

Now Layla regretted that last commentary.

"We're not complaining, just making some observations on how this place could be better," replied Tecna. "There's no need to be so bitchy."

As Marco said, they could see that many other people lived in the castle, of which many were the fairies that patrolled the castle constantly, as well as foot soldiers. The rest, men, women and even children were dressed in white habits. They wondered if they were monks, or some sort of scholars.

After a long walk, they reached a great hall, which was much better illuminated and decorated and created a dissonance with the rest of the building. A lone white haired woman, also dressed in an habit, stood alone in the hall.

"Marco," the woman said in a soft voice, coming close to the paladin. "I'm happy to see that you're okay." said the woman before giving Marco a hug.

"Please, mother, I haven't been out very long," said Marco.

Everybody guessed that that was Arthaia, Marco's mother and Lumyon's Guardian Fairy, which they already saw via hologram in Alfea. Despite her rank, her clothes were very simple and laconic, like the rest of the people there. The Winx's presence didn't go unnoticed to the white haired woman, and decided to introduce herself properly.

"Welcome to our sanctuary. Hope you find peace and tranquility within these walls," Arthaia said, and bowed before them. "My name is Arthaia, Guardian Fairy of Lumyon, although all of you have seen me before."

"Thanks for your hospitality, Arthaia," Bloom replied. "We are-"

"Oh, introductions aren't necessary, I already know who you are," the white haired woman said. "Your heroic deeds are well known here." She then looked at Sky and Brandon. "I've already heard what happened to Eraklyon. You have my condolences."

"It's okay, we only hope we can take it back someday, hopefully soon," replied Sky, trying to hide his inner pain.

"Well, that's why you're here," said Arthaia. "I'll make sure you'll be ready the next time you have to face such terrible foes. Now please, follow me."

Arthaia guided them to the west wing of the castle.

"You all have been assigned a bedroom," Arthaia began. "They're very spartan, but they have all what you need. Bedrooms are single, but if any of you want to request a bigger bedroom so you can sleep with your mate, I'll-"

"Oh, no, it won't be necessary," Musa interrupted hastily. "Single bedrooms are fine."

"Alright. The dining room is on the second floor, there's a banner that said at which hours you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner. I hope you like Lumyon cuisine. The nurse is on the second floor too, in case some of you come to feel sick."

"This is like going back to Alfea," commented Flora.

"The training halls are in the basements. We will spend some time there," Arthaia continued. "We also have some libraries on the third and fourth floors.. And...I think that I already told you all what you need to know about this place. If you want to talk to me, my office is in the upper floor. I spend there the entire morning. Now I'll recommend you rest, since you'll be exhausted. However, we will start with the training soon. Ask anyone here about your rooms. Well, that's all, I'll see you tomorrow." Arthaia said, and turned back ready to leave, but she turned back again like she forgot something. "Oh, I almost forgot. Bloom, I want you to come with me. I want to show you something that you'll like."

Surprised by such commentary, Bloom left with Arthaia while the rest of them went to their bedrooms, wondering what would be so interesting for Bloom.

…

"There," Mirta said, right after storing the last of her clothes in the room's wardrobe.

The rooms in which Mirta and the others would spend the next days, maybe even weeks, were rather small, and only had a bed, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. There was also a small window near to the bed that allowed some light to illuminate the place.

That moment, somebody knocked the door.

"Come in," said Mirta.

The door opened, and Mirta saw Marco entering the room.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Marco. "So, what do you think about your new room?"

"I think that I'd have more space in shoebox," Mirta joked. "But it's fine."

"Well, I know that these rooms are small, but this place is run on austerity," said Marco. "We think that the lack of unnecessary comfort leads to a more spiritual life."

"It reminds me of a monastery," said Mirta.

"You could say it is, but it's also much more," the paladin replied. "Anyway, why don't you come with me? I want to show you something."

"Alright," said Mirta.

"You should get a coat."

"Are we going outside?"

"Not exactly."

…

"So, you were part of the Company of the Light?" asked Bloom, walking besides Arthaia.

"Yes," the older woman replied. "Although I wasn't among the top rank members, but I helped as much as I could. You know, at your age, I wasn't half as powerful as you are now."

"Well, all this power didn't help me save Eraklyon," said Bloom somberly.

"Bloom, it doesn't matter about the power you have, but how you use it," Arthaia clarified. "You and your friends have enough power to take down almost any enemy. You also have resourcefulness, intelligence and courage. The only thing you need is to refine what you have. I'll teach you how to use your powers in a more efficient and imaginative way."

"I can't wait for the training to start," said Bloom sarcastically.

"Still, it amazes me how quick you were able to control such a great power as the Dragon Fire without previous training before attending Alfea," said Arthaia.

"I always wondered something," said Bloom. "I heard that most fairies awake her powers when they reach puberty, some even earlier. Why didn't my powers manifest until I was sixteen?"

Arthaia frowned. "That's something hard to answer. My guess would be that, being raised in a world that does not support magic, your powers were asleep all the time, but awoke once you came close to another magical being."

"Yes! The first time I used my powers was when I tried to help Stella against an ogre," said Bloom.

"That should had been the catalyst. Still, it amazes me that you were able to control such a great force like the Dragon Fire so quickly. That's a sign of natural talent. But that's no surprise, it's in your blood."

"Come again?"

"Your mother, Miriam, is one of the most extraordinary and gifted sorceresses I've ever met. Witnessing her magical skills in battle was something worth watching. I want to test the abilities of all you, boys included, but I'm especially interested in you. The fact that you were able to go to the Obsidian Dimension and return alive is something worth admiring."

"My parents were there. They sacrificed themselves so I could live a happy life. I _had_ to free them," said Bloom.

"We're here," Arthaia announced.

They were in front of a large ring made of stone.

"What is this? Another portal?" asked Bloom. Arthaian nodded in response.

"This portal is linked with the Domino Royal Palace," Arthaia said. Bloom looked at her with her eyes wide open.

"Really?" said Bloom with a wide smile.

"Yes. So if you want to pay your parents a visit..."

Bloom, excited, was about to say yes, but then stopped. Her smile faded, and her expression saddened. She stood still some moments.

"Bloom?"

"Maybe later. Now I'm a bit tired," said Bloom before leaving.

…

"So, what do you think?" asked Marco.

"Wow...it's... so beautiful... and amazing..." said Mirta, almost gawking.

They were in one of the castle's higher towers, and from there, Mirta could admire Lumyon in all it's glory and beauty. The terrain was mostly mountainous, but there were also many forests of trees with blue and white leaves, lakes and plains. It was sunset, and the sun was starting to hide behind a mountain range.

"I always liked to watch the sunset from here," said Marco. "Even after all the times I watched it, I never get tired of it."

"I think that I never would either," said Mirta, laughing. She then noticed something in the sky. "Hey, there's a flock of birds going to the mountains."

"Yeah, those are karooks returning to their nests."

"Karook?"

"It's a kind of bird. Is almost as big as a dragon, with a long, curved beak as hard as steel, big wings and a snow white plumage. It can fly under the worst of hailstorms. We have a bunch of them in the castle's stables," the paladin explained.

"Why? Do you use them as flying mounts?" asked Mirta.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Red Fountain students are taught to ride dragons, so I guess that you did the same with those birds," said Mirta.

"Well, there aren't dragons in Lumyon, that's why we tamed the karooks," said Marco.

"And do you know to ride those birds?"

"Of course I do!" replied Marco, swollen with pride. He found himself surprised by that reaction, since he never gloated about his abilities. "It was part of my basic training. You know, if you want, tomorrow we could go on a ride on a karook. You're going to love it."

Mirta suddenly turned red. She tried to reply, but all what she did was to babble.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot that flying isn't something new to you," said Marco, a bit embarrased.

"No, no!" Mirta was finally able to react. "I'd love it."

"Really? Cool!" said Marco, visibly happy.

Mirta decided to switch the topic.

"So, tell me, how are you doing with the rest? Are you getting to know them?" asked Mirta.

"I'm going little by little," said Marco. "You're a rather big group. All the girls are nice. They treat me like they knew me for years."

"That's because they want you to feel comfortable, and part of the group," Mirta explained.

"I came to like Sky and Brandon. They're excellent fighters and even better persons. I'm sure that Sky will be a great king someday...well, if we're able to retake Eraklyon."

"We will, be sure of it," Mirta assured.

"Your faith in your friends and their abilities is strong, isn't it?"

"You already saw them in action," replied Mirta. "Maybe we lost this time, but neither me nor the others are going to give up the fight. If that masked freak attack another world, things will be different. Hey, I just realized, aren't you afraid that this planet could be his very next target?"

"Yes, a little," replied the paladin.

"Just a little? Didn't you see what happened in Eraklyon?"

"And, if the Man in Black planned to invade my world, me being afraid would be of any help?" asked Marco.

"If you put it that way...no," Mirta admitted. "But I would be afraid if my planet and therefore my family and friends were in danger."

"That's why they taught me to get rid of any attachment," said Marco.

"Marco, fear is a natural emotion, and it shouldn't be seen as an obstacle. When you fear for somebody, it's a sign that you care for that person. And when you fight for somebody you care, you do it with much more strength and courage," Mirta explained. "On the other hand, if we let fear to take control of our actions, that's when it becomes an obstacle."

"Nice answer. Now answer me this: how do you know that you care about somebody, and not yourself?"

"I don't think I follow."

"I mean, when you fear for somebody, are you thinking in his or her live, or are you thinking in the hole it'd leave in your heart and all the grief you had to endure if something bad happened to that person? How can you know that that love is true and not egotistical?"

"Guess that the answer is inside you," said Mirta.

Marco frowned. That was the very same thing his instructors told him in order to achieve the apaldin's full power.

"It's something I said?" asked Mirta, noticing Marco's expression.

"No. Well, yes. You said something certain people used to tell me. Although I still haven't found out the meaning of those words," Marco said. "You know, Mirta, the first time I met you, I didn't like you."

Mirta's expression saddened, but after remembering their first meeting, it wasn't hard to see why.

"And...did you change your mind once you get to know me better?" asked Mirta.

"Yes, but I'm trying to get to another point," clarified Marco. "Don't you want to know why I didn't like you?"

"Okay, tell me."

"Because I felt that you challenged my worldview. You came and deconstructed so many things I was taught since I was little that I found it offensive," Marco said. "But it wasn't until recently that I realized that you simply were sharing your own worldview with me, and I even learned a couple of things from you."

"I know how you feel," said Mirta. "When I started studying at Alfea, I thought that I would fit there perfectly, but it wasn't as easy as I thought. Despite my good will, I still thought like a witch on many occasions – and I still do – and relied on dark magic. Alfea was ruled by an extremely different philosophy from Cloud Tower, and adapting to that was a real challenge. But that experience enriched me a lot."

Marco thought about Mirta's words. A cold wind started to blow.

"Well, we should go in."

"Why?" asked Mirta. "I'm enjoying this. We're learning a lot about each other."

"Because here the temperature at night is as low as in Omega," explained Marco. "And I don't think you'll enjoy the cold."

Mirta laughed nervously, and followed Marco inside the castle.

* * *

**Author's note: Hope you enjoyed thisn chapter. Special thanks to Robert Teague again, not for merely betareading this chapter, but also for offering some useful advices on how I could improve the chapter, and so far, I'm liking this version much better than the original. As I promised, some Mirta/Marco moments, as well as the beginning of Bloom's character development. Guess that I should move to the rest of the girls soon.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and don't forget to review :)**


	20. Of Ghosts and Nightmares

**Chapter 20: Of Ghosts and Nightmares**

It was another cold morning on Lumyon. Mirta wanted to start working on recovering Stella's memories, but she didn't see her the whole day. Hell, she was also absent during breakfast, and neither the rest of the girls nor Brandon had a clue where she was, although some residents of the temple assured the redhead she was here.

Holding a bulky bag between her arms, Mirta scoured the whole place looking for the blond fairy, until she found her relaxing in a lounge.

"Finally I've found you!" said Mirta. "Where have you been?"

"Training," Stella replied. "Arthaia has been teaching me the basics of my magic powers. She said that I progressed a lot!" said Stella proudly.

"Really? I thought that training didn't start until next week," said Mirta, confused.

"Arthaia said that she wants to train me now so I can catch up with you guys before the 'official' training begins. Anyway, what do you want?" asked Stella.

"If you're ready, I think that we should start working on your memories," said Mirta.

"Sure!" said Stella eagerly, standing up, and looking Mirta with excited eyes. "I can't wait to get my memory back."

"Let's get started, then."

Mirta opened her bag and took out several different objects from it: books, a bowl, and some potion vials,. while Stella watched patiently.

"Okay, let me explain this to you," said Mirta, while mixing some potions in the bowl. "Memories are linked to certain feelings, so I can rekindle your memories through those emotions using my magic as well as certain other help."

"I see," Stella feigned that she understood the procedure. "And have you done this before?"

"No," replied Mirta. "But I hope to succeed. I've read some books about the issue, and I think I can do it."

"Okay, go ahead."

"First, drink this," said Mirta, handing Stella the bowl with the mixed potions.

"It tastes funny," said Stella after a sip. "What is this for?"

"It's a special potion beneficial for memory. I remember that, back in grade school my mom always gave me this potion before an important exam so I wouldn't forget what I studied, and I thought that it could be of help," Mirta explained.

Stella nodded, and finished drinking the potion.

"Before we start, I have to warn you about something," said Mirta. "I will rekindle both good and bad memories, and in the case of the latter, it'll make you feel unpleasant emotions, however, this is absolutely necessary."

"Don't worry, I'll endure whatever it takes to get my memories back," said Stella with firm determination.

.

"Well, let's start then," said Mirta. "I think that this place will be fine. Now, let's begin your inner journey."

Mirta took Stella's hands. "Close your eyes," Mirta instructed, and Stella did so. The half witch whispered something Stella wasn't able to hear while she put her palm over Stella's eyes. Stella's head fell forward. "Okay, what do you see?"

"Nothing," said Stella, her eyes still closed. "I'm somewhere, but... it's dark... I can't see anything..."

"_That must be the current state of her memories,"_ Mirta thought. She expected that. It was time to go for the next step. The redhead channeled her power through Stella's body. She decided that it would be better to awaken a good memory first, so she induced happiness into Stella. "What about now? Do you see anything?"

"Yes, but... it's very blurry," said Stella. "I know I'm somewhere inside a building. I think it's a castle but I'm not sure."

"That's good. Keep concentrating. It should become clearer," Mirta advised.

"Yes... now... now I see people, lots of people... tall people..." Stella muttered.

"_Tall people. That means this is a childhood memory,"_ Mirta deduced. "Come on, go farther."

"They're giving me wrapped boxes... no, presents. They're clearly presents. I open them in delight," Stella started to smile. "Oh look! This one is a golden tiara with an emerald on it! It's so pretty! I love it!"

"What else do you see?" asked Mirta. "Do you recognize the people around you?"

"No... they're all...strangers..." said Stella.

"What about your parents?" asked Mirta, trying to make Stella to remember them. "Can you see your parents?"

"My parents... where are my parents?" asked Stella. "Oh, I see them! They're at my side, watching as I unwrap my presents... they're smiling... this is such a happy day..."

"Do you know their names?" asked Mirta.

"Yes... they're... they're... something related to the sun and the moon, I know it..." said Stella. "My dad's name is... is... Radius!" Stella said, and Mirta couldn't help but show a triumphant smile. It was working! Stella was recovering her memories! A few sessions more, and it would be like Stella never lost her memory. "He's the King of Solaria... and thus, I'm a princess... hehe, like Layla said..."

"What about your mother, Stella?" asked Mirta. "What can you tell me about her?"

"My mother... her name is... Luna, and she's... mom? What are you doing? Why are you leaving me? Mom, don't leave me! I want to be with you!" Stella yelled.

Mirta was startled by Stella's reaction. It didn't look good. She'd better do something.

"Where aam I?" asked Stella. "Where's everybody? Who are you? No, get away from me! Somebody, help me!"

Stella glowed with a golden light and began to squirm violently. Mirta could feel her powers going out of control. She had to do something, and had to do it now.

"Stella! Listen to my voice!" said Mirta, gathering every bit of her power. "You will awaken when I say so! Now, awake!"

Stella opened her eyes, and sighed in deep relief.

"Are you okay?" asked Mirta, releasing the other fairy's hands..

"No, I'm not!" Stella replied. "What did you do?"

"I'm... I'm sorry Stella," Mirta said, ashamed. "I didn't expect that to happen."

"Well, you should! You said you knew what you were doing!" yelled Stella in anger.

Stella stood up, ready to leave the room, but when she reached the door, she turned back and walked to a window. Mirta could feel Stella's anger, but it was nothing but the inevitable result of the emotional clash that reviving some moments (especially awful ones) caused. Mirta walked to Stella, and put her hand on the blond's shoulder. Stella probably would have slapped it away had not Mirta used her magic to calm her.

"Do you feel any better now?" asked Mirta.

"Yes," said Stella , now more relaxed and calm. "Hey... I'm... I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"It's alright," said Mirta. "Maybe I didn't plan this as well as I thought. Next time, I will be better prepared," Stella turned to her with a concerned look. "...if you want there to be a next time, that is."

"Yes, I do," said Stella. "I know that what I experienced wasn't pretty but... I remembered who my parents are."

"Really?" asked Mirta.

"Well, more or less. I only have small memories of them, but it's something," said Stella. "I saw my parents, I recognized them and remembered a bunch of moments we shared together... and then mom disappeared... I wanted to find her, but there was this guy with a black cloak and a mask that blocked my path," Mirta had no doubt who this guy was. "Still, it was great to remember my parents."

"That's good. We can use those memory shards to awaken more memories," said Mirta.

"Hey, don't be so hasty!" said Stella. "I'd said that there would be a next time, not that it would be soon! After what just happened, I want to wait a bit, okay?"

"Of course," said Mirta, and smiled.

…

Moments later, Mirta was heading to the library when she met Flora, who was going in the opposite direction. The fairy of plants greeted Mirta with one of her genuine smiles.

"Oh, hi Mirta," said Flora, in her usual cheerful mood. "What are you doing?"

"I was going to the library," Mirta replied. "I need to study more in-depth methods to reawaken human memory. Wanna come?"

"Sure, why not. It's for Stella, right?" Flora asked, and Mirta nodded. Flora turned and fell into step beside her. "So, how are you doing? Did she recover her memory?"

"It got out of hand, but the result was positive," said Mirta. "I still have to perfect it. To put it mildly, Stella didn't enjoy herself when a torrent of bad memories returned to her mind all of sudden."

"I think that you shouldn't push yourself so hard, and try to rest a little," suggested Flora.

"I can't. Stella's depending on me," was Mirta's reply.

"I know. We all have high hopes on you, but nobody will be mad at you if you're not successful. Your efforts are appreciated by everybody."

"Well, that's not enough!" replied Mirta harshly. Flora was taken aback by the redhead's outburst. "If I'm going to be with you guys, I have to be useful," said Mirta. Flora knew that she wasn't talking about the perception others had of her (not that it wasn't true, but Mirta wasn't that shallow), but because of her own perception.

"Are you still thinking of what happened in the Forge?" asked Flora. "Don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes sometimes. We're human."

"I know. But I also know that my level of power is below yours, despite that I'm an Enchantix fairy," replied Mirta.

Flora wished she could tell her that she wasn't knocked out, but that she turned the battle to their favor when things got bad. But that also meant that she had to tell her that she lost control of herself, and that she almost killed them. She was afraid of how she could react.

"You're our friend, and want to help us. For us, that's enough," said Flora.

"Yes, but when I try to help you, I always end up becoming a liability. When I tried to help Bloom against the Trix, I was turned into a pumpkin, and you had to spend a lot of time trying to reverse the spell. When we went to Cloud Tower after Valtor took over it, I ran straight to the trap he set for me and dragged you into an ambush," said Mirta. "I want to be helpful without becoming a liability."

"Listen, Mirta, you should take it easy. Just because you aren't as powerful as Bloom doesn't mean that you're weak, " said Flora. "Look at Helia and the rest of specialists. They don't have any kind of magic powers, but they don't feel inferior to us fairies, or useless. If we were able to locate the forge, it was thanks to you and Lucy. And you're helping Stella to recover her memories. So stop saying you're a liability to us, because you're not!" said Flora in an uncannily firm tone.

Mirta reflected on Flora's words. Did she really mean that, or it was just to cheer her up? No, even if Flora would do whatever it took to cheer up a down friend, she wouldn't lie.

"Thanks for believing in me, Flora. That means a lot," said Mirta.

"Oh, it's alright," said Flora, patting Mirta's back.

…

After helping Mirta in the library, Flora decided to spend some time with her boyfriend Helia. She found him in one of the lounges, writing something down on a sheet of paper. Probably a poem. She didn't say anything, just sat close to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Flora, you look tense," Helia noticed. "Everything's okay?"

"I've been with Mirta in the library, helping her find some spells that can be used to restore Stella's memory."

"And what's the problem?" asked Helia.

"She's still thinking about what happened in the forge," said Flora. "Well, more exactly, what _she thinks_ happened in the forge. She can't live it down. Boy, this is torturing me."

"Okay, tell me what's bugging you," said Helia, putting the sheet of paper and pencil on a nearby table.

"I want to tell Mirta that she saved us in the Forge, but then she'll know that she lost control of her powers and tried to kill us. And I know that she's taking it so badly thinking that she was knocked out, I can't imagine how much the truth would affect her," said Flora.

"You have a big dilemma, indeed," said Helia.

"What would you do if you were in my shoes?" asked Flora, desperate for an answer.

"Flora, I'm afraid I can't help you here," said Helia, who didn't notice Flora's disappointment. "But you're an intelligent and sensible girl. I'm sure you'll know what to do."

"That's the problem, Helia," replied Flora. "I'm lost like I've never been before."

"You know, Flora, I think you're a bit stressed," said Helia. "When people are upset, they tend to make harsh and stupid decisions. I'm sure that, after you relax a bit, you'll think much more clearly."

"Hope you're right, Helia," sighed Flora. "Hope you're right."

...

Night soon fell. The dinner in the castle's dinning hall was short and silent. Everybody finished their meal and exited the room, looking for some privacy.

Tecna was in her room, working with her computer since she thought of some new applications she could install in the bagdes. She was told that, in case she needed it, there was electricity in the upper floors. Fortunately, Tecna's laptop had a powerful battery and would last a few more days before it needed a recharge. She was startled by a sound, and a message appeared on her screen.

_The system has detected software of unknown origin that may be harmful. Do you want to check if there's any menace?_

_Accept/Cancel_

Tecna frowned. There wasn't any file her computer couldn't identify. She updated the software and the virus protection every day. If it was a virus, the guy who created it had to be the best hacker in the universe. Tecna clicked Accept.

_Analysis in process. Please wait._

## 12% completed

####### 39% completed

############# 57% completed

#################### 79% completed

######################### 100% completed

_Analysis complete. _

_No menacing software nor virus has been detected. Still, the file can't be regarded as safe. Do you want to open the file folder and check the file? Be sure that all virus protections are active._

_Yes/No_

Tecna clicked Yes, and before her eyes the file folder opened, revealing the Master Craftsman's last log, his last will. She then remembered that she had stored it on her badge since she couldn't open it in the Forge. How she could forget about this? That was very unlike her. Although, due to all the events that happened in the past few days, it was understandable.

She switched off the computer and picked her badge. In no time she found the log and opened it. A holographic projection of the Master Craftsman appeared before her eyes.

"_This is the Master's Craftsman last will," _ the projection said. Tecna listened to him very attentively. _"If you're listening this message, it's because I'm dead . Now Tecna, pay attention to what I'm going to say, because it's of vital importance."_

Tecna opened her eyes wide, and almost fell off of her chair. She was breathless. Did that recording just address her?

...

Riven was awakened by the tweet of the birds. He opened his eyes, and found that he wasn't in the castle anymore, but in the middle of a forest. It wasn't Lumyon since the trees and plants were green and the temperature was warm and pleasant. The specialist stood up and looked around. He realized that he was wearing his Red Fountain uniform, although he didn't remember putting it on when he got dressed.

Riven saw a path and decided to follow it. After a short walk, she saw a woman in the distance, watering some plants while singing a catchy tune. Several animals such as squirrels and rabbits ran around her. It was something very bucolic. Riven walked up to the woman.

"Oh, hi Riven," said the woman. "I was waiting for you."

The woman was tall and slender, with beautiful almond shaped eyes, shoulder length black hair and white skin, and was wearing a white kimono decorated with blue roses.

"Musa?" asked Riven, a bit confused. The woman smiled at him.

"No, I'm not Musa," said the woman. "But close. My name is Matlin."

"Matlin?" Riven vaguely remembered that name, and it took him some time to remember it. "Wait, you're Musa's mother!"

"Correct," said Matlin, and went back to watering flowers.

"But... you're dead!" said Riven.

"You're a pretty sharp, huh, boy?" Matlin snarked.

"Wait..." said Riven, who was realizing something. "Does that mean... that I'm dead too?"

"No, you're alive," Matlin said. "So you can relax."

"Then why I'm here talking with you? And _how_? And what's this place?" asked Riven, who was starting to lose his cool.

"It would help if you asked your questions one by one," replied Matlin, whose smile seemed to never fade. "Come on, we'll talk more calmly."

Matlin waved her hand, and a table with two chairs appeared beside her. "Please, take a seat."

Riven did so. Matlin waved her hands again, and a kettle, two cups and a small plate with sugar lumps appeared on the table. "Tea?"

"Thanks, but no. I don't like tea," said Riven.

"Oh, everybody likes tea," said Matlin, pouring some tea in Riven's cup. "Especially this one. You know, music isn't the only thing we Melodians excel at."

"Well, not me," Riven scoffed. "I don't like tea. It's very sour."

"Just like you," said Matlin.

"Oh, now I know where Musa got her lovely personality," said Riven.

"Relax, it was just a joke," said Matlin. "And if the tea is sour, you can add some sugar."

"Anyway, how can you be talking with me, if you're dead?" asked Riven while dropping two sugar lumps on his tea.

"I don't know," said Matlin with a shrug. "I simply... can." She noticed that Riven wasn't too pleased with her answer. "Listen, Riven, you've probably heard that there are people who can speak with the dead-"

"And I'm one of those people? Wonderful. Simply wonderful" said Riven sarcastically.

"Riven, that's a very extraordinary gift very few people possess, and you should be happy to have it," said Matlin, trying to make Riven to realize the importance of his ability.

Riven took a sip from his cup, and surprisingly found that the tea was really tasty.

"I'm sorry if I'm not too excited to learn that the ghost of my girlfriend's mother can pay me a visit whenever she wants," said Riven. "By the way, what is this place?"

"The Dream World," Matlin stated. "One of the few place where living and dead can coexist without perturbing the harmony of the universe. Once again, you should feel lucky for visiting this wonderful place."

"So... I'm asleep?" asked Riven. Matlin nodded. "Wait, if I know that I'm asleep, then I should wake up."

"Yes, but I'm keeping you here," said Matlin. "I want to know what kind of guy my daughter is dating, but the reason for this meeting is that I have a very important message to give you."

"I'm listening," said Riven.

"Musa's going to break up with you, and this time forever."

"WHAT!" Riven's jaw dropped, and Matlin burst out in laughter.

"Oh boy, you fell for it!" laughed Matlin, wiping tears from her eyes. "You should have seen your face when I said that! It was priceless!"

Riven muttered a profanity under his breath.

"Oh, come on, it was just a joke!" said Matlin. "You need to chill out. I'm sure that my daughter wouldn't like such a grouch for a boyfriend."

"So do you have something important to tell me or what?" asked Riven.

"Yes," said Matlin. Riven noticed that her smile disappeared from her face. "Something's going to happen on Melody. I don't know what exactly, but I can feel that my home planet is in danger. Tell Musa and the others about this. You're my only hope."

Matlin looked at the sky. It was getting dark.

"My time here is almost over," said Matlin. "Now we have to return to our respective realms, but we will see each other again."

"Wait, I still have a lot of questions!"

"Next time. Now you must return," Matlin pushed Riven backwards, and the specialist found himself falling to his death. However, before his body smashed against the ground, he woke up, and found himself in the (relative) comfort of his bed. Nervously, he looked around. It was still night. Three words came out of his mouth.

"What the hell?"

* * *

**Author's note: So, did you enjoy the chapter? I hope you did. You know, I had that scene with Matlin and Riven in my mind before I even started to write this story, and it's good to see it finally writen**. **Matlin is going to be an important character despite she's dead. For the next chapter, the training will begin, and we will learn about the past of Gaul and his minions. And, of course, don't forget to review!**


	21. The Path of Learning

**Chapter 21: The Path of Learning**

**Author's note: From this chapter onwards, Layla's name changes to Aisha to match the Nieckelodeon's version. I already changed her name in the previous chapters.  
**

Tecna stood there in amazement, watching the hologram that just mentioned her. No, it wasn't just a mention, it was talking to her. Could it be possible? Could the Master Craftsman predict that Tecna would open his last will? She didn't remember anything about him being able to predict the future.

"You know, you look like you've just seen a ghost," said the projection.

"E-excuse me? Are you talking to me?" asked Tecna, overwhelmed by surprise.

"I don't see anybody else here. Do you?" asked the Craftsman.

Tecna's amazement grew each moment. That thing was alive!

"What are you?" asked Tecna. Her natural curiosity soon replaced her astonishment. "Are you an artificial intelligence?"

"Not exactly. I'm something much more complex than that, but yes, it's similar," replied the Craftsman. "To put it shortly, I'm part of the Master Craftsman's essence converted into a virtual file. I inherited most of his memories and personality, but I'm still an artificial being."

"Amazing..." said Tecna. "Hey, how did you know my name?"

"The hardware I've been stored in has information about you. By the way, it's nice to see a fellow Zenithian." said the Craftsman. Tecna smiled in return.

"I see. You're also able to learn new things," said Tecna. "Anyway, what kind of information do you possess?"

"I know almost everything the Craftsman knew. His life, works, deeds..."

"The Forge of Wonders?"

"...yes, the Forge too. Are you interested in the Forge?"

"Very!" replied Tecna, totally enthusiastic. She opened her mouth, but no word came from it. Tecna realized that she had so many questions that she didn't know where to start. She was all in a flutter, which was something very unlike her. Her mind was a total chaos.

"I'm sorry, this is rather overwheming. Let me take some time to formulate what I want to know," she said at last.

"I'll be here," said the projection.

She switched off the badge, and went to sleep. Maybe the next morning she would be more relaxed and would know what to ask to the Master Craftsman.

…

After the Winx girls and specialists spent some time relaxing and recovering their strength, it was time for training with Arthaia. The white haired woman told the the girls to be at the inner training grounds right after breakfast. They were already there, in their fairy forms.

"Girls, the training is about to begin," Arthaia said. "As I said when you first arrived here, I'll teach you new ways to use your powers, as well as ways to improve your imagination and creativity and apply them to your magic skills. For starters, we'll work on reinforcing your connection to your world."

Bloom raised her hand. "Excuse me, but how's that supposed to help us?"

"As you probably know, every fairy is linked to the world she's born to, that's why you need to save somebody from your world to earn your Enchantix," Arthaia explained. "However, a fairy can form a link with another planet if she spends a significant time living on it," she added. "Now, sit down, and close your eyes."

The girls did so.

"Now, I want you to think of your world as a whole. Think of its fauna, flora, population, culture, past..."

While Arthaia talked, the girls visualized their home worlds in their minds, seen from space. Bloom tried to think of Domino, but for some reason, she could only think of Earth.

"Now think of your town. Your house. Your school. Your childhood friends. A place you loved to go. Think of all the good moments you had there," Arthaia said.

The senior fairy could feel how all the girls were gathering energy, and their bodies emitted a glowing aura.

"Now, I don't want you to think, but to _feel_ your world. I want you to feel how the world's energy flows through your bodies as if you were part of the same being."

The girls' energy grew so much that it was released at once in the form of a non-destructive magic pulse that crossed the whole castle. Upon noticing this, the girls opened their eyes.

"What was that?" asked Aisha.

"I think it was us," said Musa.

Yeah,. I could feel our energies growing and mixing with each other, like when we execute a convergence spell," Tecna confirmed.

"And... we did that?" asked Stella in awe. "It was amazing!"

"I could feel Linphea like I was there," gushed Flora "The whisper of the wind, the scent of the giant flowers, the tweets of the birds... I could even see my family!"

"What you've experienced is the true power of the Enchantix. By doing this brief exercise every day your connection with your home planets will be reinforced a little more each time, and thus you'll become stronger," explained Arthaia.

"How is it that we didn't learn this stuff at Alfea?" asked Bloom.

"Alfea may be the best school for fairies known, but it's just a school after all, and they don't teach absolutely everything. Besides, what I teach you here is something only Enchantix fairies can do. Well, that's not exactly true, since any fairy can draw power from her home world, but to a much lesser degree than an Enchantix fairy. Also, just because you graduated from Alfea and earned your Enchantix doesn't mean that you can't learn more things. In fact, a fairy's learning never ends."

"So... this is all the training we're going to have?" asked Mirta with doubtful expression. Arthaia smirked at her.

"Of course not, Mirta. Your enthusiasm is really moving. This was just a mere warm up. Let's get to the real training. Enchantix!"

The girls watched Arthaia transform into her Enchantix form. In this form, Arthaia's hair was much longer, with several short braids on the sides of the head. Her clothes were a multi layered glittering white dress with golden trim that came down to her knees, long gloves and golden, strappy barefoot sandals, and a golden tiara decorated with an ankh crowned her head. Shimmering sky blue translucent wings sprouted from her back.

"You know, this has to be the first time I've seen an older woman transform into her Enchantix," commented Aisha.

"Let's test your fighting skills," said Arthaia, resting her gaze on the girls. "Why don't you go first, Bloom?"

Bloom walked in front of the white haired woman, waiting for more instructions.

"Okay, attack me," Arthia instructed.

The fiery headed girl summoned a fireball in each hand and shot them at Arthaia. The Lumyon fairy erected a protective shield and stopped the attack.

"Not bad," she said. "Now attack me again, but this time I'm going to attack you back, so be ready."

Bloom nodded and cast two more fireballs at Arthaia, which were blocked the same way as before.  
The other then raised her hands, and summoned two glowing white circles. The white circles flew at Bloom and wrapped around her wrists, and like they were pulled by an invisible chain hung Bloom in mid air. Bloom struggled to break free, but to no avail.

"What the hell is this?" asked Bloom, still struggling against the magic handcuffs.

"And here is your first lesson," said Arthaia. "Figure out a way to break free from my spell."

"But I can't! My arms are immobilized, I can't cast spells!" Bloom protested.

"Come on Bloom, use your imagination. If you can't use your arms, you have to use something else," Arthaia said. "Why do you think the Enchantix does not include shoes?"

"So people can admire our beautiful toenails?" asked Stella, and the rest of the girls chuckled. It was good to see her old self slowly resurfacing.

Arthaia snapped her fingers, and released Bloom from the spell.

"When you cast a spell, you channel your energy through your arms and release it from your hands. At least, that's what you're used to doing," Arthaia explained. "However, as all of you can see, there's a way of preventing you from using magic. But if you learn other methods to channel your powers, you won't have such a disadvantage. "

"So, what are we supposed to do in such situations? Channel magic through our feet?" asked Musa.

"Not just that," Arthaia replied. "You can use your eyes, mouth or even the whole body. For example, Bloom, try to exhale fire from your mouth. Be a dragon!"

Bloom channeled her energy through her throat, and tried to release it from her mouth. However, when she opened her mouth, only smoke came from it and Bloom started to cough.

"Don't worry, I didn't expect you to succeed the first try. You'll improve through practice. Come on, let's go to the next exercise."

…

The Man in Black walked towards a full-length mirror made of obsidian. He turned one of the ornaments of the frame, and saw Gaul reflected in the mirror.

"Oh, master," said Gaul, bowing before him. "What can I do for you this time, milord?"

"I want to know about your progress with your newest project," said the Man in Black, who made little effort hiding his skepticism.

"There's no need to worry, milord. Everything goes just as planned," replied Gaul, confident as usual.

"Still, I'm not sure about the planet you chose to set up your laboratory," the Man in Black said. "It's not a safe world."

"It's all part of the plan, master," said the Lich. "The inhabitants will provide a perfect test once the project is complete. Besides, it's highly unlikely that our base will be discovered by the locals."

"Hope you're right, Gaul."

"You need to have a little more faith in me, master," said Gaul. "I already proved that I'm no incompetent."

A moment of silence.

"Did you want something else, sir?" asked Gaul.

"Now that you asked, yes, one more thing," said the Man in Black. "I think it's about time you tell me about your underlings."

"Don't you trust them? They proved to be valuable minions," said Gaul.

"I have no doubt about their capabilities. I simply want to know them better. Remember, knowledge is the key to power," said the Man in Black, reciting one of the Coven's mottos.

"As you wish. This is a long story that begins shortly after the Coven's defeat," Gaul began. "After several years, I was able to contact several members of the Coven, and discussed rebuilding it with them. Some of them, like Mandragora, where easy to convince, but others were reluctant due to our dwindling numbers and lack of new blood. This was one of the first things I worked on."

"We were able to locate the offspring of many deceased members, as well as kidnap some other kids that showed proficiency in the magical arts. We set up a base on a secret planet and trained the kids to be future members of the Coven. Some of them weren't able to... survive the trials we put them through, but most of them did. We sent them on missions to recover artifacts and spellbooks that belonged to the Coven but were now in the possession of the Company of Light. Even if we were extremely weakened, so was the Company of the Light, with their founders missing and their remaining forces tracking down and taking care of the few survivors of Domino. Some of them succeeded while others didn't."

"However, things went awry. It became more and more obvious that the idea of a Coven without the Ancestresses' power and guidance, or at least a strong leader, was doomed to fail. There were numerous internal fights, and finally one of the members betrayed us and revealed the secret location of our base to the Company of Light."

"The base was razed by the Company of Light. They outnumbered us, and the kids weren't ready to fight. All who tried to resist were killed, and the children were taken away by the Company. I decided to take everything I could and make my escape. However, I noticed two girls hiding in one of the warehouses I was looting, Neyra and Mirage. They asked me for protection. I decided to take them with me and train them, since they could be useful in the future."

"Kharel is a different story. Years later, my search for several magic talismans and spellbooks took me to Andros. They were in the possession of an aristocratic couple. I spied on them and studied a way to get the items. I learned that they had a son, but unlike his parents, a fairy and a wizard, the son was born without magic abilities, and this affected their relationship. The boy was a top student at Red Fountain, but they were profoundly disappointed by his lack of magic powers."

"Soon I realized that I could use this to my advantage. I met the boy, named Kharel, and gave him a small shard of my powers. Even if that was the first time I saw him, I knew that it was the first time he was really happy. When my shard of magic faded, he asked me more. My original plan was to make Kharel to steal the items I needed and then gave him another shard of my power that would vanish in less than a week, but I thought that I could make better use of him, since my small group needed a powerhouse, and he was a fine fighter. Instead, I promised him an even greater power if he passed a test: I ordered him to kill his parents. Before midnight, they were dead. I got what I wanted, plus I took Kharel with me, and gave him the Sword of Bane, one of the artifacts I was able to save from the Company." Gaul finished his tale, waiting for his master's reaction.

"You really have a knack for manipulation, Lich. I'm certainly impressed," said the Man in Black.

"Well, you can always make people to do whatever you want if you know what they want," Gaul replied.

…

During the next several days the girls trained under Arthaia's watchful eyes, and the senior fairy could tell that her new apprentices showed great skill and were quick learners. Which in itself wasn't a surprise, given how many dangers and threatening foes they had to face over the years.

For this exercise, Tecna, Aisha and Musa were in the middle of a room, surrounded by several columns each with a hole at waist level. The rest of the girls watched from a balcony above.

"These columns will fire rubber balls at you. You'll have to dodge them without using magic," Arthaia explained.

"Sounds easy," said Aisha. She was happy to see that the training also included some physical exercise, aside from all the meditation and learning new ways to channel magic they were doing the past days.

"...while blindfolded."

"It doesn't sound easy anymore," said Tecna.

Arthaia waved her hand, and a blindfold wrapped around their eyes, rendering them completely blind.

"Get ready," said Arthaia.

The exercise began, and the columns started firing rubber balls at random intervals, and Aisha, Musa and Tecna pretty much were unable to dodge any of them. Musa tried to hear the balls being shot to identify where they came from, Tecna was trying to figure out the pattern of the shots (until she finally realized it was completely random), while Aisha moved as swiftly as she could with hopes of dodging the balls. Arthaia halted the training when she saw that the girls were badly bruised.

"Just as I expected," said Arthaia.

"We can't dodge the balls! They're too fast!" complained Musa, frustrated. She took off the blindfold.

"True. None of us has enough speed to dodge a ball shot with such power, especially if we don't know where the shot comes from," explained Tecna more calmly.

"Well, that's what this training is for, isn't it?" said Aisha.

"You're failing because you're following your physical senses. Your eyes and ears can deceive you. That's why you have to learn to _feel_ the attack before it happens,"

"And how are we supposed to do that?" asked Tecna.

"By being in touch with your inner magic. If you're able to ignore the rest of your senses, you'll be able to hear your extra senses warning you of dangers before they even happen," said Arthaia. "To put it simply, you need to shut down your brain."

"It isn't that simple," replied Tecna.

"Come on, try again. I know that you're aching and tired, but I want you to realize your true capabilities."

The three girls sighed, returned to the center of the stage, and put back on their blindfolds.

"Now, imagine yourselves in an empty space. There's nothing around you; only you exist. You don't see anything, you don't hear anything, you don't even smell anything... now look inside yourself. Feel the presence of your magic. Hear the voice of your instincts."

Three balls were fired from three different columns. However, this time, Musa, Tecna and Aisha dodged them beautifully. The rest of the girls cheered in unison.

"Did you see that? We did it!" said Aisha triumphantly.

Then she was knocked down by another rubber ball. The other girls couldn't help but laugh.

…

Riven was looking at the falling snow through the window of one of the lounges, since it was all he could do. He wasn't allowed to leave the castle since it was too cold outside, and he had nothing else to do. He used to spar with the other Specialists to fight off the boredom, but in the end he grew tired of that as well. And there was that dream with Matlin. He wanted to talk with somebody about that. Maybe Bloom, since she had some experience in dealing with dead relatives.

Upon placing his hands in his pockets, Riven noticed a small round object in one. It was that crystal sphere he stole from the Forge. He thought that maybe the sphere and his dreams were connected in some way. Could it be possible?

"Hey," said somebody behind him. Riven turned around, and saw Nabu. "They told me you were here. Since the girls spend so much time training, this place becomes more boring each day, doesn't it?"

"Totally," Riven replied. "I know I sometimes say that Musa is a pain in the neck, but I really miss her."

"Yeah, I know how do you feel. I also miss Aisha. When she isn't training with the other girls, she's so tired that she isn't in the mood for anything. I wish we could spend more time together," said the wizard. "But we can look on the bright side: when we see each other again, our meeting will be more meaningful."

"Optimist to the core," said Riven dryly.

"Hey, if I wasn't so optimistic, Aisha wouldn't be my girlfriend," said Nabu with a smile.

"I don't think so, since both your parents arranged your marriage," said Riven.

"Touche," chuckled Nabu. "But it wouldn't be the same, since she'd marry me out of obligation, not love, so my point still stands."

"I don't know why they have to train so much. I thought that they already had their Enchantix," said Riven.

"True, but that doesn't mean that they've reached their potential. The training in magic is very long. As a wizard, I know what I'm talking about," said Nabu. "By the way, I think it would be a good idea if we trained too, so we can be of more help when that man in black strikes again."

Riven muttered something the wizard couldn't hear. Nabu's expression darkened.

"Riven, you look more aloof than usual. Is there something wrong with you?"

Riven wanted to say no, that he was fine as usual. But he also wanted desperately to talk with somebody, and Nabu seemed the best option.

"I had a dream recently," Riven began. "Well, not a dream exactly, but a... vision. I saw Musa's dead mother."

"I see," said Nabu, thoughtfully. "Did you have any dreams like that later?"

"No, it was only once. But it never happened to me before," said Riven. "Although..."

"Yes?"

"Uh, Nabu, can you keep what I'm going to tell you now a secret?" asked Riven. Nabu frowned, and watched the maroon haired Specialist to pull a small spherical object from his pocket. "I think that this may be the cause of the dream." He held it out in the palm of his hand.

Nabu picked up the small ball, and examined it closely. It was completely transparent, but suddenly a purple whirlpool formed inside it.

"I don't know what it is, but I can feel strong magic energy from within," said Nabu. "Where did you find it?"

"In the Forge," said Riven, fearing how Nabu would react. He didn't want, didn't need, another reprimand.

"Do the others know about this?" asked Nabu, although he already figured out the answer, since Riven wanted to keep it secret.

"No, just Musa. She made me promise that I'd tell the others about it at some point," said Riven.

"Well, my advice would be to ask somebody who knows more about spirits than I do. But if you do, you will be forced to reveal that you took an artifact from the Forge without knowing what it could do. Am I right?"

"Completely," said Riven.

"Regardless of what are you going to do now, you made the right choice by telling me this," said Nabu, trying to sound reassuring. He returned the object.

Riven smiled, and felt thankful for having such a good friend as Nabu. Now he didn't feel alone with his problems. It was time to seek the meaning of the dream he had, and those that were to come.

…

Another training session. This time, Mirta was alone in the training ground while the rest of the Winx watched from above. Arthaia was about to explain the basis of the exercise.

"As you probably saw, a necromancer's main battle tactic consists in raising numerous corpses and swarm their opponents. For this exercise, you'll have to fight against a growing horde of undead."

"_Real_ undead? Are you serious?" asked Mirta, incredulous.

"Of course not. The crystal above you will generate illusions of undead that are completely harmless but will serve as well as any real undead for this exercise.." clarified Arthaia. Mirta and the rest of the girls looked at the roof, and saw a blue crystal above them. "The goal of this exercise is to test your ability in fighting multiple enemies at once. You won't be able to fly nor use fairy dust."

"What? But that's very unfair!" protested Aisha

"I know, but you need to learn to fight without relying on certaing powers an abilities. Imagine, for example, a situations in which your wings broke, or you had to face an enemy whose magic cannot be broken with the fairy dust," Arthaia said."Let's start!"

A dozen skeletons appeared around Mirta. Despite being illusions, they looked very real. Shoving her fear aside, the half fairy transformed into her Enchantix, and began to fight.

She fought the skeletons by casting her standard attack, a beam of destructive energy. The undead attacked her from all directions, so she had to turn around quite often. The number of undead slowly grew, and Mirta realized that, for each skeleton she destroyed, two or three more appeared. How she was supposed to pass this exercise, if there was no apparent way of winning?

When the number of opponents tripled, Mirta began to use both hands to cast two beams in opposite directions. However she wasn't making any progress, since the more skeletons she destroyed, the more joined the battle. As the number of undead grew, so did the the redhead's agitation. Even if she knew that it was a simulation and that there was no real danger, another thought gripped her mind: the rest of the Winx were watching her, and she couldn't let the others see her as a weakling. Although, deep inside, it wasn't the Winx she wanted to prove her power to, but herself. She wanted to know that she wouldn't be a liability again, and this was her trial.

Mirta stopped attacking and raised a protective bubble around herself. The undead started to hit it with their weapons.

"She isn't going to make it," declared Aisha. "She's losing her cool."

"Besides, what is she supposed to do?" asked Stella. "Whenever she destroys a skeleton, more appear!"

"Come on Mirta, you can do it!" cheered Flora.

Mirta looked upwards, and saw the Winx looking at her with dubious expressions (except Flora), and Arthaia, who gave her a piercing look.

"_Okay, calm down, this is just a simulation. It's no big deal if you fail," _ Mirta thought. _"Now, what would the Winx do? Tecna would suggest to think of a strategy. But what can I do? I'm completely surrounded. Both fairies and witches are ranged combatants, so I need to push the attackers away."_

Remembering the very first lesson, Mirta tried to draw energy from her planet. She rekindled her best memories of it, which included the good times she had with Lucy as kids. The half witch soon felt a surge of energy flowing through her body. She used that energy to cast a shockwave that pushed the skeletons some meters backwards.

"Very good, Mirta!" cheered Bloom. "You're doing fine!" The rest of the Winx joined Bloom with the cheers.

Mirta felt extremely motivated by those words of encouragement. She looked upwards, and smiled them in return.

"Mirta has overcome a desperate situation, but she just returned to square one. She didn't complete the exercise," said Arthaia.

Returning her attention back to the skeletons, Mirta planned her next move. She only had a few seconds before being completely surrounded again.

"_Okay, what can I do now? If I keep attacking them, there will be more, but I can't win if I don't attack them. What alternatives do I have? I can't create an illusion, since it won't work on undead. Then what should I do? Come on Mirta, think!"_

A bunch of undead got close to her. She summoned a red ball of energy in her hand, but instead of casting it like a beam, she waved it like it was a melee weapon, which allowed her to destroy more enemies at once. She repeated that several times, and the last time she even spun on her feet for a 360º attack, but she couldn't do that for long. Then she got an idea. She summoned another energy ball, and made the ball spin around her, hitting any undead who dared to came close. She then summoned another ball, and then another and another. The four balls spun around Mirta at a frenzy speed, forming an unbreakable defense. Suddenly, all the undead vanished.

"Very good, Mirta," praised Arthaia. "You have a creative mind, and you can come up with plans under great pressure. You should feel proud of yourself."

Mirta couldn't help but blush, while the Winx cheered her.

…

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, Gaul was looking at his latest creation. It was a glowing cocoon that was the size of a big car. Through its thin layer of skin, the Lich could see the creature that was sleeping inside.

"Just a little more," whispered the Lich. "Just a little more time, and the world will witness my greatest creation!"

* * *

**Author's note: ****Hoped you liked this training chapter. Besides improving their fighting skills, I always wanted the girls to use her magic for something more than casting beams and create shields. There's a lot of potential for more esoteric use of magic, which I will expand in the futurte.**

**Gaul's little story was based on a Trix story titled Wicked Legacy, in which the younger Trix were introduced to dark magic for first time. Kharel's back story wasn't included. However, I cancelled the story after two chapters upon realizing that I didn't like the Trix that much to the point of writing a story about them.**

**Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and hope to see your reviews.**


	22. Melody's Call

**Chapter 22: Melody's Call**

Like she was every morning, Arthaia sat in her office doing her usual paperwork and assigning the fairies and knights under her command to different missions, when somebody knocked at the door.

"Come in," she said. It was Mirta. "Oh, Mirta, good morning. What can I do for you?"

"I was thinking about what you told us the other day," Mirta began. "The fairy ability to draw power from their home planet."

"What about it? Are you having some trouble with that? Do you need any extra lessons?"

"No, no, no..." Mirta said quickly. "It's just that... I was thinking... could a witch do that too?"

The senior fairy was taken aback by the half-witch's question. Upon thinking about it, it was logical that she would ask such thing.

"Honestly, that's something I've never thought about," Arthaia replied. "Although I don't think so."

"Is it because they don't have an Enchantix?" asked Mirta.

"Mirta, the difference between fairies and witches is something much more complex than most people think. It's not just that they rely on darkness while we do it on light. It's also their mindsets," the white haired woman said.

"Mindsets? I don't think I follow," said Mirta, confused.

"Mirta, witches draw energy from negative emotions such as hate and aggression, while fairies draw it from positive emotions, such as compassion, mercy and self-sacrifice. You probably already know this. I know very little about you, Mirta, but I fully understand why you transferred from Cloud Tower to Alfea."

"Some witches said that I was too weak to be a true witch," said Mirta, a bit saddened.

Arthaia chuckled. "Many witch apprentices think that they're opening the door to great power, but an average witch wouldn't be any more powerful than an average fairy, and vice versa. Darkness seems to be more powerful than light, but that's just appearance. The truth is that darkness is just a shortcut to power," she said.

"Really? Because during my time at Cloud Tower, I didn't feel I was getting any more powerful," said Mirta.

"Sorry, I didn't explain it correctly," said Arthaia. "Darkness is fueled by strong passion and emotion, mostly negative. It's very easy to act on your anger or hatred. The more a witch gives in to her hatred, the more powerful her spells will be. Light, however, requires much more discipline to master. It requires one to be in harmony with the Universe, to have a balanced mind, and to be connected with nature and their surrounding world." she said. "That's why a fairy of certain level can harness energy from her planet."

"I see," said Mirta. "But if a fairy can achieve such power, why do so many people think of fairies as inferior to witches? 'Fairy' was always a synonym of weakness among witches. But then I met Flora and the others, and I was amazed by their power and abilities, and I wondered how somebody could think of fairies as weak."

"That's because not all fairies are able to reach the level the Winx have, much less the peak of their own power. In fact, most fairies won't ever achieve their Enchantix form." Arthaia explained. That comment made Mirta feel a little special. "Although this perception may have to do with their training methods."

"Yeah. Cloud Tower was much rougher than Alfea," Mirta said.

"Rough isn't the word I'd use, but _brutal_," said Arthaia.

Mirta frowned. "Brutal? Don't you think you're going to far?"

"I wasn't talking about Cloud Tower, but about the Ancient Witch Coven and other rogue organizations," Arthaia clarified. "The motto of those groups was that the strong dominated the weak. That's why their training was so brutal that many people would lose their lives in the process, and thus, they ensured that only the strongest would survive to join their ranks. This explains why in fights witches and dark wizards usually outmatch fairies and other light-aligned fighters, such as paladins, since weaker fairies would survive to fight against the strongest witches," she said. "You know, Cloud Tower used to be like that. Fortunately, after the defeat of the Coven, Griffin eradicated all of these barbarian practices. And it's a good thing, since her appointment as headmistress was met with lots of opposition."

Mirta was surprised to hear such thing. Was she talking about the same Griffin, the greatest witch alive? A woman that inspired many generations of girls to be witches? The Griffin she knew was a stern and strong woman that was respected for her wide knowledge of the dark arts, her power, wisdom, and heroic actions during the war against the Ancestresses. Hell, even her friend Lucy professed her desire to be like Griffin (which, in Mirta's opinion, was much better than her former role models, the Trix).

"How can it be?" asked Mirta. "Who would oppose Griffin's appointment? I can't think of any other person better suited to direct Cloud Tower."

"Again, this issue is more complicated than meets the eye," said Arthaia. "Let's just say that many witch families with lots of influence, due to their position or wealth, didn't like Griffin due to her being a member of the Company of Light. They thought she'd turn Cloud Tower into another school for fairies."

"But there were more witches in the Company than just Griffin, right? She couldn't be the only one!" said Mirta.

"True. But what I haven't told you is that those families secretly supported the Ancient Witch Coven, and were afraid to lose the power and influence they gained over the years," said Arthaia. "In the end, they gave up and allowed Griffin to become the headmistress, but in return we had to made some... concessions."

"Concessions? But they supported the Coven! Why you didn't send them to Light Rock, or some other prison?"

"It's more complicated than that," said Arthaia for the third time. "Even if they did support the Coven, we didn't have enough evidence to take them to court, and even we did they still had lots of resources to keep the trial going forever, and that would have collapsed interplanetary trade and strained our relationships with many other nations. It was better to have them as allies than enemies," she said. "Although, after all these years, I don't think they support the Coven or any of its allies any more."

Mirta looked down, and thought about what Arthaia said.

"I know how you feel," said Arthaia. "You're realizing that the world is much more complex than you thought. Many people your age tend to think that the world is black and white, but there are also many shades of gray. And, as a fairy, you sometimes won't do what it's right, but what's best for everybody. Like a popular saying goes, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs first."

Mirta remembered that Lucy told her something similar. At Alfea, they were told that fairies didn't merely protect worlds and their inhabitants, but that they changed the world for the better. Now Arthaia was deconstructing those teachings. There would be things neither she nor other fairy could change. Small offenders would be needed to stop the really dangerous villains. Some people would get away with heinous acts for the sake of the greater good.

"Mirta, don't let these words to sink you into pessimism," said Arthaia, noticing Mirta's reaction. "Idealism and optimism are good things to have. However, if you let them cloud your mind, you'll make the same mistake many witches do."

"I'll bear those words in mind," Mirta said softly. "Thanks for your time, Arthaia."

"Anytime," replied Arthaia with a smile.

...

Brandon entered the lounge the girls used, and found Stella writing something down in a notebook while occasionally looking around.

"Hey, Stella," greeted Brandon with his best smile. "What are you doing?" Writing wasn't one of Stella's favorite activities, but after the induced amnesia, she wasn't the same.

"I'm gathering ideas about how this place could look prettier and less... depressing," said Stella. "You know, repaint the walls, add some more windows, some flower pots, some carpets... I even made some sketches! Wanna see?" She sounded like a little child who wanted to show her parents a drawing she just made.

Brandon smiled, seeing that maybe Stella wasn't completely gone. "Sure, show me."

Stella showed Brandon all of her surprisingly well drawn sketches, since Stella's artistic skills were pretty much void. Stella explained in full detail all of her ideas, and Brandon tried to follow her and feign that he understood all of the cosmetic changes.

"So, what do you think?" Asked Stella after finishing.

"I'm sure that this place would look much better," replied the squire. "Let's hope Arthaia takes these suggestions into account. By the way, where did you get these ideas?"

"I don't know. They simply pop up in my mind," said Stella with a shrug. "I sometimes suddenly see flashes of my memory. One of those memories is that I lived in a huge castle. It's the most beautiful place you can imagine. It's big, beautifully ornamented and with big windows that illuminate every room and corridor."

"What you've remembered is the Castle of Solaria, your home," said Brandon.

"I wish I could visit it. Maybe that would refresh my memory," sighed Stella.

"We can't visit it now, but if you want, you can still see it," said Brandon, sporting a smile.

"Really? How?" asked Stella, turning to Brandon with her eyes wide open in excitement.

Brandon reached into his pocket and pulled out his touch screen cell phone. He opened the image folder, and showed Stella pictures of them in the Solarian Castle. Stella looked at the pictures very closely, catching every tiny detail. Meanwhile, Brandon was looking at Stella, sure that there was something different about her. It finally hit him: she was gaining some weight. Her body looked much more toned up, to the point that she reminded him of Aisha. She had even started to develop some muscle as well.

To Brandon, this made Stella even more attractive.

"We look to be having a great time," commented Stella, snapping Brandon out of his thoughts.

"Well, that's because we did have a great time," said Brandon. "It was summer, and you invited me to the castle for two weeks."

"Hey, why didn't you show me this before?" asked Stella.

"Well...you never asked," said Brandon. "But yes, I think that I did show you this before."

Stella's expression softened. "It's okay. I don't know if it would have told me anything before. It was after those sessions with Mirta that I remembered things. Then I started to remember by myself."

"Really? Like what?" asked Brandon.

"There's this girl that appears in my mind when I'm cold. She has white hair, blue eyes and the creepiest smile you can imagine, and let's not even talk about her horrible clothes," remarked Stella. "I don't know why I remember her, since she isn't part of the group. Well, maybe she isn't part of the group, since I feel uneasy when I remember her."

"You should. The girl you're talking about is a witch named Icy. She and her sisters were your mortal enemies," Brandon explained. "But don't worry. At this moment they're at Light Rock Monastery."

"Is that a prison?" asked Stella. "Because that doesn't sound like a prison to me."

"Well, it's more like a rehab center," said Brandon.

"I think Flora's here," said Stella, glancing toward the door..

At that moment Flora, accompanied by Bloom, entered the room. Brandon realized that their bodies were as toned up as Stella's.

"Hi, Stella, Brandon," greeted Bloom. "What's up?"

"Wow!" said Brandon, looking at Stella,. "How did you know that?"

"Are we missing something?" asked Flora, arms crossed.

"Stella knew you were coming," said Brandon.

"Really? How?" asked Flora, curious.

"Your scent," said Stella. Flora frowned, and Bloom couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hey, I take a shower every day!" said Flora.

"No, no, I didn't mean that you smell bad," rectified Stella. "But that you have a very... unique scent. Kinda like a mix between wet ground and fresh roses. In fact, whenever I perceive the scent of a flower, you appear in my mind. For some reason, it also evokes lots of frustration and anger."

"It's good to see that Mirta's therapy is working," commented Bloom. She, like the rest of the girls, remembered the time back in Alfea when Flora's plants invaded their rooms.

"So, how's the training going?" asked Brandon.

"Good. We're learning a lot of new stuff, and new ways to use our powers," said Flora.

"In fact, I used magic to enhance my sense of smell," said Stella. "See how I can apply the lessons to real life?" said Stella proudly.

"Still, it's good to have a day off," said Bloom, flopping down on a couch. "Arthaia may look all sweet and gentle on the outside like Faragona, but deep inside she's more like Griselda."

At that moment, their badges began to beep. There was a text message.

"It seems that Arthaia has summoned all of us," said Bloom. "She has something important to tell us."

…

After her talk with Arthaia, Mirta decided to have something to eat. She used to eat very little (her slim body was proof of that), but after some days under Arthaia's intensive training, her appetite increased a lot. Upon arriving the dinning room, she was nicely surprised to see that Marco was also there, having a light meal. During the past days, she barely saw him. After picking some food from the counter, she stood in front of him.

"So, it's this seat taken?" asked Mirta gleefully.

"Mirta!" said Marco, equally happy to see her. "Of course not. Take a seat."

She did so.

"So, how's the training?" asked Marco. "Mother says wonders about all of you. And about you specially."

"Really?" asked Mirta, almost blushing.

"Yes. She said you have a lot of hidden potential," said Marco. "By the way, you look really nice."

"Thanks," replied Mirta, blushing even more. "Although I've been eating a lot lately."

"You should. All of you looked awfully thin," said the paladin. "I remember mother saying that she was going to talk with Lady Faragonda, and ask her what kind of food Alfea has."

Mirta laughed at his comment. "Well, Alfea's food was rather insipid, to put it mildly. In fact, that's one of the few things I miss from Cloud Tower. The food was delicious."

"The food rations they gave me when I was out on a mission weren't too tasty either," said Marco. "They said that it had everything my body would need, but I'd happily trade them for the castle's food. There's no food better than one's home food."

"True," said Mirta. "My mom is a really good cook too. She said that she learned to cook so well when she attended Cloud Tower."

"Maybe cooking is an inherent talent for witches," said Marco.

"Maybe," replied Mirta. "But my mom's success is thanks to a special potion she created, which can make absolutely any food taste incredibly good."

"If your mother did that, she has to know a lot about potions," said the paladin.

"Oh, you can bet on it!" replied the half witch, swelling with pride. "In fact, her potion store is the most famous on our whole planet. Griffin offered her a position to teach potion class at Cloud Tower, but she refused it."

"So, your mother is a witch. How did she react when you became a fairy?" asked Marco.

"Well, she didn't like it," said Mirta with a bit of bitterness. "She said it was okay, but I could feel her disappointment. She's a witch, her mother was a witch, her grandmother was a witch and so on. So she wasn't happy with the idea of me breaking a family tradition. Fortunately, she's used to the idea of having a fairy for a daughter by now."

"What about your father?"

"He was okay with it. But that wasn't a surprise. My dad is a very easygoing person. He never ever told me off or punished me when I did something nasty," said Mirta. "This may sound weird, but it's like he was trying to be my friend rather than my father," said Mirta. Marco didn't reply. She decided to change the topic. "So, what about you? What have you been doing these days?"

"I've been training, just like you," said Marco. "I've been trying to master a paladin spell, but I haven't succeeded so far."

"I'm sure that, if you keep trying, you'll master it some day," said Mirta sincerely. "And what kind of spell? Maybe I could help."

"I don't think so, but thanks for the offer," said Marco politely. "The spell is called Wings of Justice. When a paladin uses this spell, two golden wings made of pure energy grow on his back and allow him to fly."

"I see," said Mirta, nodding. The redhead remembered that Avalon, one of the teachers at Alfea and a paladin like Marco, could grow wings on his back like he just described. She then tried to imagine Marco with glowing golden white wings on his back. A smile slipped out while doing so.

"What's so funny?" asked the paladin, raising en eyebrow.

"What? ...oh, nothing," said Mirta.

"That didn't look like 'nothing' to me," said Marco sternly. He leaned forward and looked Mirta in the eyes. "Come on, tell me."

"It's something really silly," said Mirta, leaning backwards.

"Let me be the judge of that," said Marco.

"Okay..." sighed Mirta, giving up. "I was imagining you with wings."

"Really? And how did I look?" asked Marco, curious.

"Kinda cute."

"Kinda cute? That's how I'd look with wings?" asked the paladin, arms crossed.

"What did you expect me to say?" asked Mirta.

"I don't know. Maybe imposing, spectacular, impressive..."

"You have quite an ego, haven't you?" said Mirta chuckling. "That makes you even cuter."

"Fine! Guess that I can kill my enemies with my cutesy!" said Marco in an over the top manner, and then both he and Mirta burst out in laughter. Suddenly, Mirta's badge started to beep.

"What's going on?"

"Apparently, your mother has summoned us for an important meeting," said Mirta. "Come on, let's go."

…

"Is everybody here?" asked Arthaia while looking at the large group, making sure that nobody was missing.

"So, what is the news?" asked Bloom.

"We've received a message from Melody," said Arthaia.

Musa gasped upon hearing her home planet's name, and was expecting the worst.

Riven was also surprised, but he was able to hide his reaction. During the past days, he'd been wondering if Matlin's warning was true or not. Now he knew the answer.

"But I'll let others explain the situation." The senior fairy pressed a button on her desk, and holograms of Faragonda and Galatea appeared before them.

"Girls, I'm afraid that we have some bad news," said Faragonda, sporting a serious expression.

"It's been reported that many country villages have been attacked. They described the attackers as undead," said Galatea.

"So does this mean that the Man in Black has set Melody as his new goal?" asked Aisha.

"I'm afraid so," said Galatea. "After the Eraklyon tragedy, we increased security measures and defense against external attacks, but I'm afraid that it may not be enough. That's why I ask Musa, the Guardian Fairy of Melody, as well as the rest of you, for help."

"We can't let it happen!" said Musa on the verge of desperation. "I'm going to Melody right now! You guys can come or not."

"Musa, calm down! We can't be so hasty," said Flora softly. "We don't know if they plan to conquer melody too."

"After what happened on Eraklyon, I think that it sure that guy wants to add more planets to his patrimony," said Riven bitterly. "I'm going with Musa." Musa smiled at him for giving his support.

"Wait, we must think first and take into account all the possibilities," said Tecna. "Did you think that maybe those attacks are just a bait to lure us to Melody while that guy invades some other world? To make a rushed decision could be fatal."

"And why would he do that?" questioned Brandon. "Did you forget what happened on Eraklyon? That army kicked our asses effortlessly. There's no need to send us to another place. Hell, he even attacked Eraklyon _because _we were there at the time."

"I'm with Musa and Riven," said Helia. "We can't afford the risk."

"Besides, if that guy corrupts Melody, all the Melodian fairies will become his servants, Musa and Galatea included," said Bloom. "We're talking about more than just a planet here."

"Then it's settled," said Sky. "We will leave for Melody immediately."

"Galatea is already on her way," Faragonda said. "I gave her special permission due the situation."

"I'll meet you at the Royal Palace. Please, hurry!"

The communication ended, and the holograms disappeared. The group had a new destination.

…

After less than a day of travel in the _Prometheus_, the group arrived on Melody.

Melody was a really beautiful planet, with vast green fields, beautiful trees of pink, red, orange and yellow leaves, lots of rivers and lakes, and gorgeous mountain ranges. But the truly amazing aspect of Melody that defied the laws of physics were the large chunks of land that floated several hundred, sometimes even thousands of meters above the surface of the planet.

The Melodian Royal Palace was built inside a large valley surrounded by mountains. Unlike other palaces, it was shaped like a big tower, wide and broad on the lower floors, but becoming much narrow on the upper floors. Each floor had four wide balconies, one on each side of the building. The balconies were beautifully decorated with plants of many kind.

The group left the ship and headed to the palace entrance, where Galatea and a man was waiting for them.

"Melody," sighed Musa. "I wish I could have returned home under better circumstances."

"Don't worry Musa, everything will be fine," said Riven, trying to reassure her. Musa looked at him like saying _Really? How?_, but she soon realized Riven was trying to make her feel better.

"I'm... afraid," said Musa. "Afraid of what can happen."

"Don't be," said Aisha. "Things will be different this time. We went through a lot of training. We improved our abilities and learned new ways to use our powers. This time, we will win."

"Yes, you're right," said Musa, smiling at Aisha. "Thanks."

Riven muttered something under his breath. He wished he could come up with something similar to what Aisha said to reassure her. He was her boyfriend after all. But hey, he tried, and trying it's what counts, right?

Wrong.

He wasn't trying hard enough. There were many times in which he wasn't sincere with her, like she was with him. Hell, if Musa hadn't found out that he stole that crystal marble from the Forge, he wouldn't have told her about it. Did he care about Musa enough? Maybe if he did, he could come up with a better way to relieve her anxiety.

"Be welcome to Melody, all of you," said Galatea solemnly. Then she walked towards Musa and hugged her. Musa hugged her back. "Musa, you have no idea how happy and relieved I am to see you here."

"I'm happy to be here too," replied Musa.

"By the way, who's your friend?" asked Timmy, referring to the man standing beside her.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce him," said Galatea. "This is Black Lotus, head of the Thirteen and my personal bodyguard. He's also my cousin."

Black Lotus (all of them deduced it wasn't his true name) bowed before them silently. He was large, almost two meters tall, and had an athletic build. He wore a big white poncho with black trim that fell down to his waist, black iron-plated leather boots and a large rimmed circular hat. A black linen mask concealed the lower part of his face, leaving two mysterious black eyes visible. He appeared to be in his late twenties, but it was hard to tell.

As they'll learn later, the Thirteen was a group of thirteen warriors trained in martial arts, hand to hand combat and armed combat whose main goal was to protect the royal family, and sometimes act as Black Ops. They still used metal weapons instead of guns or phantoblades.

"Come on in. There's a lot of things we must do before departing," said Galatea, and she led her guests into the palace.

…

Meanwhile, in Gaul's lair, the Lich was admiring the cocoon where his latest creation slept when he was approached by Kharel and Neyra.

"Master Gaul, we have some news," said Kharel.

"Speak" said the Lich, turning to them.

"The fairies are here," said Neyra. "They're looking for us."

"I see," said Gaul, turning around again. "Just as planned."

"Just as planned?" asked Kharel, confused. "What does that mean? Did you know they were coming?"

"Of course I did!" said Gaul. "I revealed our location so I can test the power of the creature with them."

"I see. And when does that thing plan to wake up? Because I'm sure that they'll find us in a day, maybe two."

"Yes, they got here sooner than I expected," said Gaul. "Anyway, just a minor miscalculation. Go out to meet them, and delay them all you can."

"As you say, master."


	23. The Battle of Melody

**Chapter 23: The Battle of Melody**

The sun rose above the lands of Melody as the group of sixteen set off for the source of undead attacks. Nobody liked to get up early, but they knew they had to travel during the day in case they were attacked by undead, who were much stronger at night. They advanced into a deep forest of large trees.

Flora guided the group. Her ability to talk with the trees and other plants made it possible for them to know where these attacks came from. By drawing power from her home world, she could hear her plant friends with much more clarity. It was like going from barely understanding what somebody says in a foreign language to speaking and understanding it like it was your mother tongue.

Bloom was distressed. She was afraid of having to face the Man in Black again, which was something rare. It wasn't the first time the Dragon Fire fairy lost a fight against an enemy, and her past defeats didn't undermine her self confidence or bravery one inch, but this time it was different, and she couldn't tell why. She'd often try to find relief in her fiancée, only to realize that he was as distressed as her.

Musa and Galatea talked, trying to mask their great worry for their home world. The last time the Winx and the Man in Black's forces clashed, the former suffered a major defeat. But then she remembered what Aisha said: they were trained by a Company veteran. They were stronger and wiser, and wouldn't make the same mistakes as on Eraklyon.

"The key is to stay together," commented Musa. "Back on Eraklyon, they divided us, and that was the reason for our defeat."

Galatea nodded. She felt she was a bit of a hindrance for the rest of the girls. All of them had achieved their Enchantix, while she only had her Charmix. Besides, they had a lot more experience than her.

"Hey, Gally," said Mirta from behind. She used to call her 'Gally', as an affectionate diminutive. "You okay?"

"Yes," said Galatea. "I'm just..."

"What?"

"Well... I'm the crown princess of this world. I'm its protectress alongside Musa, but... I never thought that one day I'd have to protect it from such a huge threat."

Mirta could tell how Galatea felt, thanks to her empathic powers. She was carrying such a big burden on her back, and she had doubts if she was strong enough for it.

The half fairy remembered that, back in Alfea during the sleepovers they had along with Nova and Noelia, Galatea sometimes said that she'd like to be a normal girl. She was tired of all the etiquette and protocol classes she had to attend when she wasn't at Alfea. Her true passion, like most Melodians, was music. She'd be happy if she could spend the rest of her days composing and singing songs, and maybe have a music career, even if it wasn't too big. She had something to share with the rest of the world.

"Sometimes... we find hardships in the road, Gally," said Mirta. "But, if it makes you feel better, remember that you won't face those hardships alone. Look around you. There's a lot of people who will help you when you ask for it."

"Yes, maybe you're right," said Galatea.

"We're getting close," said Marco.

"How can you tell?" asked Bloom.

"The undead. I can fell their putrid essence," the paladin said. "At first it was just a small sensation, but became stronger the more we walked. It comes from that small mound" said Marco pointing to a nearby hill.

"He's right," confirmed Flora. "The trees say that undead came from that direction."

"Okay, everybody get ready. I wouldn't be surprised if they were waiting for us," Sky warned.

…

Two people were following the same route as the Winx, but in the opposite direction. Following Gaul's instructions, Kharel and Neyra were going to face them in order to delay them and give Gaul's newest creation the time it needed to mature.

Kharel was nervous. Sure, he loved to fight, especially against fairies and their allies, but now he was going to face off against a group of eight (although he thought they were seven) powerful fairies plus another eight (again, seven) fine fighters trained at Red Fountain, and he only had Neyra as support. Yes, they're just going to delay them, not kill them, but the possibility of defeat and its dreadful consequences was there.

Kharel always thought that no fairy could match him due to his sword that could depower them on a whim. The first time, he took them by surprise, but as time went by they learned not to engage him in direct combat and let the magic-less boys take care of him. Even if he was a phenomenal fighter, he found most of the time he was outnumbered.

"I think that this is a good place for an ambush," Neyra said, snapping the knight out of his thoughts. The witch was looking the surroundings. "They have to go past here if they want to reach Gaul's laboratory."

"Hey, aren't you nervous?" asked Kharel. Neyra turned to him, and raised an eyebrow.

"Should I be nervous?" replied Neyra. "What's going on Kharel? It's not like we haven't done this before."

"Well, it's just you and me against the whole group. Do we have a chance against them?"

"No," replied Neyra bluntly. That answer surely didn't calm the knight.

"Then what are we doing here? Is your devotion to that Lich so strong that you accepted a suicide mission?" asked Kharel.

"This is _not_ a suicide mission," groaned Neyra.

"But you just said-"

"I said that you and me wouldn't have a chance against them," interrupted the witch. "But we're going to have some help."

Neyra bent down and started to draw ancient symbols on the dirt with her index finger. Kharel understood.

Kharel didn't notice that Neyra didn't answer his question. She _was_ nervous. Not for the ensuing battle, but because she was alone with Kharel. The summoner never liked him. Gaul incorporated him into the group because they lacked a close combat fighter, and indeed he proved to be an efficient brute, but she still distrusted him. In fact, when her sister read his mind the first time, she noticed several psychological issues. Although you didn't need to be a telepath to know that there was something wrong with him. He suffered violent mood swings, _screamed _profanities in his sleep, and when he charged into battle turned into a bloodthirsty madman to the point that Mirage wasn't even able to read his thoughts. He wasn't too bright either.

But that's something you'd expect from someone who killed his own parents with his bare hands, moved by a weak promise of power.

Neyra pushed those thoughts aside, and started the ritual to summon several monsters that would aid them in battle.

…

After Sky's warning, the group plunged into silence. They became more wary of possible attacks. The wait for something terrible to happen was sometimes even worse than the event itself. Until it finally happened. Musa stopped, looked upwards, and yelled: "Watch out!"

All of them could see a volley of huge fireballs heading for them. The fireballs crashed against the ground, making huge explosions. The group quickly dispersed, trying to evade the deadly rain of fire.

"Come on, Enchantix!" shouted Bloom, transforming into her Enchantix outfit. The other fairies did so (except Galatea, who transformed into her standard fairy form.)

"I can't see anything!" said Aisha, trying to dispel the cloud of dust that the explosions created.

Behind the dust, however, they could see a blue light that became brighter each time it flashed. They immediately recognized it, and moved fast. They barely avoided the beam that would have depowered them. However, they weren't safe yet, since behind the beam Kharel was leaping towards them, holding his sword over his head, ready to slice them. However, Brandon stood in his way, parrying the blow. Kharel then rounhoused him, sending the brown haired Specialist to the ground, and shot another beam at the girls.

"FLY!" yelled Bloom. All the fairies elevated a few meters in mid air in their attempt to dodge the beam until they were caught in some invisible net.

"What the hell's going on? I can't move!" said Musa, struggling.

"I think this is a spider web," said Tecna.

"A... spider web?" asked Stella, frightened. "What kind of spider weaves such a big web?"

"Oh, you'll find out really soon," said Neyra. "Just look above you."

The Winx, to their horror, saw a huge, black spider menacingly advancing at them. They panicked and struggled with all their strength in a vain effort of saving their lives, but it was useless. The spider web was too strong.

"BRANDON!" screamed Stella at the top of her lungs. However, Brandon was too busy fighting the red knight.

"The girls! They're in trouble! We have to help them!" said Riven.

"Way ahead of you!" said Marco, charging one of his trademark abilities. "Echo Slash!"

The crescent-shaped energy wave flew towards the net, but it was blocked by a fireball.

"The fight just started, and you forgot about me already? Disappointing," said Neyra, shaking her head. "If you want to save your precious girlfriends, you'll have to beat me first," she said. Then, she summoned two fireballs on each hand and tossed them at the specialists.

Black Lotus charged at the fire witch, deflecting the fireballs using his hat. He then leaped into the air, drew his katana and tried to slash Neyra, The witch, however, jumped backwards, avoiding the lethal blow. Black Lotus was joined by Sky, Riven and Helia.

"Finally, things are getting interesting," said Neyra with a smile.

"So, what about these guys?" Black Lotus talked for first time.

"The woman is a witch. She has fire magic and can summon monsters," Sky explained. "The other guy has some low-level magic abilities, but the real threat is his sword. He can absorb somebody else's power for some limited time with it."

"I see," said Black Lotus. "Our priority is to save Princess Galatea and the other girls. One should be able to keep this girl busy while the rest-"

"Like hell you will!" yelled Neyra, raising both hands, creating a circle of fire around her and the boys. "If you want to save your girlfriends, you'll have to beat me first!"

Meanwhile, Timmy, Marco and Nabu were about to help the girls.

"Okay, if you can distract that spider long enough, I can dispel the spider web," said Nabu.

"That doesn't seem too hard," said Timmy, before noticing a shadow above them.

The specialist, wizard and paladin jumped away to avoid being crushed by another monster, which crashed in the ground with such force that it left a crater. This monster was a red skinned, iron clad demon that was almost four meters tall, with black leather wings on his back, long teeth, horns and a mane of yellow fire. He was holding a club which was also wreathed with yellow fire.

"Damn, we don't have time for this," cursed Marco before engaging the demon in combat. Timmy pulled out two guns and fired at the demon, which blocked the shots with his club.

Meanwhile, the giant spider was closer, as was the girls' demise.

"We have to think something, and fast!" urged Aisha. "Any ideas?"

"I got one," said Bloom. "I'm going to try to channel fire through my whole body and burn this web."

Bloom concentrated like she was going to cast a spell, but channeled her energy through her whole body instead of just her arms. She noticed how her aura of flames was slowly burning the spider web.

"Come on Bloom, faster!" urged Stella.

"I'm doing what I can!" protested Bloom. She then realized that she could draw energy from her home planet. She visualized Domino in her mind, but it was constantly replaced by Earth. She concentrated more, but she didn't feel any stronger. The spider was about to bite Aisha with its huge jaws.

"Damn, this is the end," said Aisha. "Girls, it's been great to meet you."

However, before the spider could taste its prey, it was trapped inside an energy bubble that pushed it away. They saw Nabu channeling a spell.

"Nabu, my love, thank you! You're great!" said Aisha.

"Hold on! I'm almost done with this one!" said Nabu.

"Oh, no, you won't!" said Neyra, still engaged with the other four specialists. She cast a shockwave that knocked her foes backwards, and, now that she was temporarily free, surrounded the wizard with another circle of fire. Nabu, however, was able to toss the spider away from the girls.

"Circles have no beginning," Neyra began. "But some of them have very predictable endings. Now vanish!" said Neyra, clamping her hand. The flames surrounding Nabu engulfed him, leaving nothing but a patch of charred ground.

"NABU!" yelled Aisha in the verge of tears.

"How beautiful. He sacrificed himself for his love. Hahahaha-" but Neyra's cackle was interrupted by Nabu, who appeared behind her, and knocked her down with a low kick.

"Don't worry, Aisha, I'm really hard to kill," said Nabu with a smile. Aisha smiled in return.

"Okay, this is our chance!" said Bloom, creating a fire aura around herself again. This time, being under no pressure, she freed herself quickly.

"Good one Bloom! Now release us!" asked Stella.

"Bloom, behind you!" warned Flora.

Bloom turned back to see the giant spider leaping towards her. Bloom dodged the huge arachnid, and cast three dragons made of fire out of her hands that crashed against the eight legged monster, however, it only charred it a little. The spider shot several green balls of goo, which Bloom correctly guessed it was some corrosive substance. The spider kept firing corrosive balls of goo at the Dragon Fire fairy, who was forced to flee while she thought of a plan.

"Wait... she's moving Bloom away from us!" said Tecna in realization. "Those guys really want to incapacitate us first."

"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Mirta. "Any ideas?"

"Guess that we can only wait and hope that the boys can free us," said Musa.

However, the boys weren't having the time of their lives either. While Brandon was fighting alone against Kharel, Marco, Nabu and Timmy were fighting against the iron clad demon, and the rest against Neyra.

"Let me try something," said Mirta. Watching Bloom gave her an idea. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She was surrounded by a red aura.

With little space to move, Sky, Riven, Helia and Black Lotus were having trouble dealing with Neyra, who was constantly harassing them with her fire spells. All they did was block her attacks with their phantoblades (or his hat-shield in Lotus' case), and falling back to the circle of flames. However, Neyra was almost hit by an incoming fireball. She, as well as her opponents, looked upwards to see the Winx floating above them.

"Did you miss us?" asked Bloom smugly.

"What? How could you...? Bah, I'll kill you right now! Fire Vortex!" Neyra waved her hand in a circle, creating multiple circles of fire that flew at the girls. However, they vanished upon being hit. "An illusion?"

However, the harm was already done. Helia took advantage of the situation, tackled Neyra and pinned her to the ground. The fire circle that surrounded them disappeared.. "Free the girls, now!" yelled Helia, while struggling to keep Neyra immobilized.

Sky pulled out his boomerang, Riven his phantoshurikens, and Black Lotus his classic, steel shurikens. They threw their weapons at the spider web with flawless precisión, ripping the net enough for the fairies to free themselves. Meanwhile, Neyra already got free of Helia's grip, but saw, much to her horror, that the Winx were free (and this time, she knew they weren't illusions). She summoned her two monsters back to her, as well as Kharel, who was confused to find himself no longer fighting against Brandon. The Winx and Specialists regrouped as well.

"Good illusion spell, Mirta," praised Flora.

"Lots of people, especially witches, tend to underestimate the power of illusions," said Mirta.

"Come on, don't make this any worse, and surrender! We win!" said Aisha triumphantly.

But Neyra wasn't going to let the fairies to beat her again. She had another ace up her sleeve that she planned to use that moment.

"You're really hasty to guess the outcome of this battle," said Neyra, while raising her hands. "By the power of the Void: Summoning Spell!"

A cloud of purple smoke appeared behind the fire witch. It started to grow by the second, and when it reached certain size, it started to take shape. Two long, thin and shady arms ending in pointy fingers sprouted from its sides, and something similar to a head formed on the upper part. Instead of legs, its body ended in several tentacles. The girls quickly recognized the monster that towered above them.

"Oh no! It's that Void Lord again!" said Flora, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Correction: this is the Void Overlord, an improved version of the one you faced at Cloud Tower!" claimed Kharel. "It's more powerful, more intelligent and doesn't need a host!"

"So, what do you say, Winx? Do you still think you already won the fight?" taunted Neyra.

"This changes absolutely nothing! Wait and see!" replied Aisha.

"What I'll see is your lifeless bodies! Attack, my puppets!" commanded Neyra.

The three monsters attacked again, and the group divided in smaller groups to deal with them, as well as with Neyra and Kharel.

The iron clad demon charged forward and tried to smash them with his burning club, but the hit was avoided. Marco took advantage of the demon's loss of momentum and charged at him. However, the demon stomped the ground with one of his hooves, knocking the paladin backwards.

"Marco! Are you okay?" asked Mirta, who went to check if he was seriously hurt.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Marco, standing up. "That guy's stronger than he looks... and he looks pretty strong already."

"Hey, what is he doing?" asked Mirta.

The demon had his large mouth open, gathering energy on it that was taking form of a glowing, fiery ball, and it finally was released in the form of a destructive beam aimed at the half fairy and paladin, who couldn't react in time. Fortunately, Tecna, Musa and Aisha got in the way between the beam and its target, and blocked it with a convergence shield.

"Thanks a lot, girls," said Marco. "Nice timing."

"Anytime," said Musa, winking at him.

"Watch out!" yelled Aisha, seeing the demon charging at them again. The fairies avoided once again an upcoming blow. Musa and Tecna cast a combination between sound waves and electric bolts at the demon, shielding his face and body with his wings. He let out a deafening roar, followed by blazes of fire coming out of his mouth.

"Convergence: Digital Barrier!" said Tecna and Musa in unison, creating a shield that resembled a sheet of music, to protect themselves from the demon's fire breath.

"My turn," said Aisha. The princess of Andros summoned several morphix balls, and cast them at the demons hooves, rendering him stuck to the ground.

"Now, attack!" said Aisha.

Tecna cast green laser beams, Musa destructive sound waves, and Mirta red beams of energy. The combined attack hit the demon hurling him backwards and leaving him momentarily dazed.

Marco knew that it was his time to attack, but this time he tried a ranged attack instead. He created a ball of golden light between his hands, and released it at the demon. The ball blasted the demon in an explosion of golden light that hurled him several meters backwards, until he finally crashed against a tree. He was apparently unconscious.

"Wow, that was amazing!" praised Aisha. "I wouldn't have guessed that you were capable of doing such things the first time I fought you."

However, the paladin fell to his knees, and clutched the sides of his body.

"Marco, what's happening?" asked Mirta, worried.

"I've used most of my energy in that attack," said the paladin weakly. "For a moment, I forgot that we paladins don't have as much as magic power as fairies or wizards."

"Are you okay? Do you need some help?" asked Tecna.

"No, no... I'll be fine in a minute... go to help your friends," said Marco. "I'll join you soon."

The four fairies left Marco there and rejoined the fight.

Meanwhile, Kharel was in a fight with Sky, Brandon, and Riven. The three specialists had surrounded him, and attaacked one by one, and whenever Kharel showed a vulnerable spot, the other two would go for the kill. Hopwever, Kharel was a formidable warrior that parried all the blows aimed at him with astonishing speed. Still, all he did was protect himself against the Specialists' attacks.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Brandon. "What do you get helping these monsters? What do you get in return?"

"What do I get in return?" said Kharel disdainfully while parrying a blow from Sky. "Why do I have to get anything? I'm doing this because I want to!"

"Don't you see what your masters are doing? Don't you realize of all the suffering they brought upon the world?" asked Sky.

"My masters were the first people who really cared about me! They gave me power! They gave my life meaning!" said Kharel, swinging a blow against Riven. "Now, like them, I fight and live to see a world without fairies!"

"And why do you hate fairies? They're the guardians of the universe! They fight for peace and good!" said Riven.

"I've had enough of this charade! Dark Slam!" the knight of the red armor slammed his fist on the ground, making a small tremor which was enough to knock his three adversaries off balance. He then focused his attention on the fairies. His sword glowed brighter, and fired a beam of energy at Bloom.

"Bloom, watch out!" yelled Sky.

Bloom turned around to see the blue beam flying at her. Instinctively, she surrounded herself with a fire bubble. The beam hit her, but instead of absorbing her powers like it did the last time, it simply absorbed her shield, leaving her unharmed.

"Hey, what was that?" asked Kharel, feeling that only a small shard of Dragon Fire enter his body. "Anyway, this should be enough to deal with scum like you. Dragon Fire, release!"

Kharel waved his hand and formed a mass of fire in front of him. A serpentine dragon came from the fire, ready to crash against the Specialists. Sky quickly pulled out his shield, which absorbed most of the damage, but was completely carbonized.

Meanwhile, Bloom, Stella, Flora, Galatea, Helia, Timmy, Nabu and Black Lotus were fighting against Neyra, her giant spider and the Void Overlord.

"Heatwave!" yelled Bloom, casting a wave of fire.

"Fire Vortex!" yelled Neyra, creating a vortex of flames. The two attacks clashed against each other in a huge explosion.

"Do you think it's a good idea to fight fire with fire?" asked Bloom.

"Of course! I fight _everything_ with fire," said Neyra with a wicked smile. "Now perish!"

The witch mentally commanded the shadow giant to attack. He trapped Flora and Stella with his long, thin hands. The two fairies struggled against the strong grip of the Void Overlord.

"Release them, you monster!" shouted Bloom, casting a stream of fire out of rage. However, the Void Overlord wasn't too harmed by the attack, and didn't free the captive fairies.

"Black Lotus!" Galatea yelled. Her bodyguard turned from the giant spider he was fighting to listen his protegee. "Focus on that witch!"

"As you say, milady!" said the masked fighter. He removed his hat and tossed it at Neyra like it was a disc, hitting her in the stomach. He then leaped into the air and roundhoused the fire sorceress, knocking her down.

"Bloom, now, let's attack that thing together!" said Galatea.

"Right!" said Bloom. "Dragon Roar!" Bloom cast a powerful stream of fire at the chest of the Void Overlord.

"Battle Song!" said Galatea, waving her hands as well.

A strange pink aura surrounded the Void Overlord. Suddenly, out of nowhere, sonic pulses started to smite his body, focusing especially on his arms, but without harming either Stella or Flora. Finally, the Void Overlord was forced to release them.

"Good job Galatea!" praised Stella.

"Yeah, you're really a quick thinker," said Flora.

"I do my best to help," replied the princess of Melody.

They saw that Black Lotus was still attacking Neyra. Despite having no magical abilities, the guy was a very skilled martial artist, and used his weapons with lethal efficiency.

"When the summoner isn't concentrating, her monsters become weaker," deduced Flora. "This is our best chance to destroy that aberration!"

"Alright, let's go!" said Stella, casting a beam of golden light at the Void Overlord. "Enchantix Sunbeam!"

"Dragon Fury!" yelled Bloom, as a fiery dragon came out of her hands, diving at the Overlord.

"Flower Twsiter!" said Flora casting a twister of golden flowers.

"Charmix!" said Galatea, activating her Charmix. It was a brooch shaped like two flutes in the shape of an X and a ocarina hip bag. "Percussion Smite!" said Galatea, summoning two spectral drums that emitted sonic waves.

The four attacks crashed against the Void Overlord, creating a huge explosion. The creature let out a howl of pain upon receiving them. However, once the smoke dissipated, they could see that he wasn't seriously harmed.

"Okay, anybody have any ideas?" asked Stella. "Because it's obvious that there's something about this strategy that isn't working."

"Maybe we should forget about the creatures, and focus on the summoner," suggested Bloom.

"Yes, but I don't think this big guy is going to let us go!" said Stella, avoiding a sweep of the Overlord's giant arm.

"Then we'll need to keep him distracted," said Flora, flying away. She looked at a couple of trees. "Okay, this should work."

"What are you going to do?" asked Galatea.

"Just wait and see," said Flora, smiling, before opening her arms. "Might of Nature!"

Flora's body emitted an intense green glow, raising powerful winds around her. Suddenly, the two trees below Flora turned into humanoid shapes, with short legs and branch like arms. They even had a face. They were treants, spirits of nature that took the shape of trees.

"Now, sons of Mother Nature, go and fight these abominations!" Flora commanded.

The treants attacked the Void Overlord and the giant spider that was fighting against Nabu, Timmy and Helia.

"Wow, I knew you guys were powerful, but that was just unbelievable!" said Galatea in amazement.

"And couldn't you do that before?" Stella recriminated angrily.

"Let it go, Stella. We have to help Black Lotus!" urged Bloom. "Come on guys, forget about the spider, we have to beat Neyra!" said Bloom to the Specialists fighting the giant spider.

Black Lotus was still fighting against the fire witch in a balanced fight, but it wasn't any more when Bloom, Stella, Flora, Galatea, Helia, Timmy and Nabu joined him.

"We'll tell you one more time," said Flora. "Surrender in peace, and we won't harm you."

"NEVER!" yelled Neyra unleashing a dire wave of fire in all directions.

"Black Hole Shield!" said Nabu, erecting a barrier that also pulled all the fire to him.

Helia's string glove wrapped around Neyra, leaving her completely immobilized.

"Come on girls, attack now!" said the blue haired specialist.

The four fairies cast another barrage of powerful spells that knocked Neyra unconscious. Her three monsters vanished into thin air.

"Great teamwork, guys!" praised Bloom. "Now only the knight's left!"

And speaking of Kharel, he was still fighting against Sky, Riven and Brandon until he was once again wrapped by Helia's string glove, and his sword was knocked away by Black Lotus' shuriken.

"Green luxurious Ivy!" said Flora, summoning vines that wrapped around Kharel's body. The knight struggled against the growing plants, but they held him in a strong grip. All he could do was to utter grumbles of frustration. "It's okay, Helia. This guy isn't going anywhere."

"Well, it seems that the fight is over, and we win. I already told you that those monsters would change nothing" said Aisha snidely.

"Okay, now tell us what do you plan to do on Melody!" said Musa. "Do you plan to turn it into a wasteland like you did with Eraklyon?"

"So, you want to tell me what are we doing here, right?" asked Kharel. "I could tell you, but that would ruin the surprise, and Master Gaul wouldn't be happy. No, he wouldn't."

"Surprise? What do you mean?" asked Galatea.

"Okay, I'm gettting tired of this asshole!" said Riven, who was about to punch Kharel in the face, before being stopped by Flora.

"Relax, Riven. Violence won't be necessary," said Flora. The fairy of Nature blew some pink pollen at Kharel's face. The red knight coughed, and suddenly, his eyes went blank. "Now, you're going to answer our questions."

"I'm... I'm going to answer your questions," Kharel replied in a monotone tone.

"What are you doing here?" asked Musa again.

"We came here to test a new creature that Master Gaul created," said Kharel.

They didn't notice that Neyra was stirring on the ground, and slowly recovering her consciousness.

"Test? What do you mean?" asked Aisha. "Did you plan to use the inhabitants of this world as cannon fodder for that creature?"

"Yes, but the real test was to pit the creature against you," said Kharel. "That's why we chose this planet, since one of the Winx is a native."

"Wait, that means that those attacks were merely bait!" concluded Mirta. "They wanted us to come here!"

"It turned out it was a trap, just like Tecna said. Although not the kind of trap she was thinking of," Timmy pointed out.

"Where's the creature?" asked Sky.

"It's in Gaul's laboratory," said Kharel.

"Is that guy with the black cloak here too?" asked Riven.

"No. He's still on Eraklyon," the knight said. Everybody sighed in intense relief. They wouldn't have to fight against that walking nightmare again. At least for now.

"There's something that doesn't make sense," said Tecna. "If your whole plan was to lure us here to test the power of that creature, why did you attack us?"

"Because the creature hasn't matured yet. It needed time before coming out of the cocoon. That's why Master Gaul sent me and Neyra here. To delay you,."

"Alright... what exactly is that creature?" asked Brandon.

"It's an-"

But before Kharel could reply, a fireball fell on the group, hurling them away from the red armored knight. Neyra, once again back on her feet, picked up the Sword of Bane and burned the vines wrapped around Kharel, who was still dazed.

"Our job here is done," declared Neyra. "Gaul's waiting for you in his laboratory. I'm sure that you'll find the way. There you'll see the future that awaits every fairy in the universe. Farewell!"

Neyra and Kharel disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Marco. "They already told us that this is just a big trap."

"Yes, but now we _know_ that it's a trap," said Nabu. "We will be more cautious."

"I don't know about you, but I won't be happy until we drive every single minion of that talking skeleton off of Melody," said Musa. "I vote to go there, and destroy that creature."

"I'm with Musa," said Aisha. "Besides, that masked freak isn't here. I don't think that we'll have to face anything worse than him."

"Then is settled," said Bloom. "If nobody is opposed, we will go to Gaul's laboratory and face whatever he has prepared for us."

And thus, the Winx Club continued their journey, wondering what kind of horrors the Lich has set for them.


	24. Gaul's House of Horrors

**Chapter 24: Gaul's House of Horrors**

**Author's Note: Nothing interesting here, but I made you look!**

* * *

After the fight with Kharel and Neyra, the gang continued their journey to Gaul's hideout. Flora guided them out of the forest, and although there weren't any more plants she could talk to, they were close enough to their destination for Marco to follow the undead energy like a wolf follows the scent of its prey.

They noticed that, the more they walked, the more he sweated and his skin became paler.

"Marco?" Brandon asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," said the paladin, "There are more undead than I expected. The energy weakens me."

"So, that's how you can sense undead? Their presence harms you?" asked the squire, with a worried look.

"It's not as bad as it looks," said Marco. "I'll be better once I'm used to it."

"Really?"

"Yes. When I'm close to undead... it's like the sky becomes darker," Marco began. "But even if you don't see anything at first, your eyes will get used to the darkness over time."

"I can sense an evil presence as we walk, too," said Aisha.

"This land has been infected by the undead magic. Not even plants grow anymore," said Flora sadly, looking at the dusty land.

"Let's hope that whatever is killing the land doesn't spread to the rest of the planet," Musa said.

"Well, that's why we're here," said Riven.

Marco then stopped.

"Hey, why did you stop?" asked Sky.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Bloom.

"The undead. I can sense them much better now. They're here. We just found Gaul's hideout," said Marco.

"Really? And where is it?" asked Stella, looking around. "I don't see anything."

Tecna pulled out her small computer, and started to type something.

"My scanner detects hundreds of creatures around us," said Tecna. "Marco's right. Gaul's hideout is here."

"So, should we look for a door or something?" asked Mirta.

"No, the signal comes from... underground," said Tecna. "We're over the Lich's lair!"

"Of course. Undead hate light and heat. It's obvious that they'll place their base underground," said Bloom.

"Okay, obvious question: how do we enter?"asked Galatea.

Tecna kept working with her computer. "I just accessed a geographical website, and looked for some information about the region we're in now. There's a bunch of catacombs under our feet. Gaul has to be using that as his base."

"Is there any entrance?" asked Bloom.

"Sure. I'll look for the nearest."

"Wait a minute," interjected Aisha. "If there's an entrance, it will be guarded, and I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to meet an horde of walking corpses this soon."

"The Princess of Andros is right," said Black Lotus all of sudden. "Our chances will be better if we're not seen."

"However, once we enter, Gaul will know our position," said Nabu. "Wizards are people who tend to be prepared for any situation, and that guy seems to be no exception."

"If he's so cautious, he probably already knows that we're here," said Mirta.

As if on cue, a large gate made of stone appeared in a nearby wall of stone. The gate was decorated with skulls, bones and other gory elements.

"Boy, that was _so_ unsubtle," said Stella.

"I think that they're inviting us to come in," said Mirta.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go in!" said Musa, rushing in.

"Musa, don't be so hasty! We don't know what might be waiting there," warned Sky, grabbing the Melodian fairy by the arm.

"Yes, we must stick together," added Bloom.

Tecna's computer started to beep.

"This is weird..." the pink headed fairy said, looking at the screen.

"Hey Tec, what's going on?" asked Timmy.

"I'm getting a new signal," said Tecna. "There's something inside that isn't undead. I don't know what it is."

"Guess that we'll have to find out the hard way," said Musa, and walked inside, followed by the rest of the group.

...

Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the hideout, Gaul was looking at the beating cocoon when he was approached by one of his wraiths.

"Milord, the livings are here," said the wraith in a cavernous voice. "What are your orders?"

"Just in time," said the Lich. "Let's start the show."

…

Back at the entrance, the Winx and the specialists were entering in the lair.

"That guy even put in some stairs," said Riven.

"Just how long has he been here without our knowledge?" asked Galatea. "Such a thing makes me shiver."

"He'll regret having come here," said Musa. "I'll beat that Lich so hard that even his ancestors are going to feel the pain!"

"You should calm down, Musa," said Mirta.

"Yes, and save that energy for the fight," said Marco.

As they walked deeper, the place became darker, until the light from outside didn't illuminate the place anymore. The specialists pulled out their flashlights.

"This place kinda reminds me of Cloud Tower," said Mirta, looking at the gloomy walls.

"I don't like this place. It makes me feel uneasy," said Stella, rubbing her arms. "There's too much darkness."

"Your powers come from the sun. It's your source of energy," said Brandon. Then he added "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to." The specialist wasn't sure if that comment could hurt Stella's pride.

"No, I'm okay, I can continue," said Stella. She suddenly stopped.

"Stella? Are you sure you're okay?" asked the worried Brandon.

"Yes. I just had another flash of memory. It was a wedding," said Stella. "But I was very sad and scared. Weird, isn't it?"

Brandon decided that this wasn't the best place to tell her how he almost married -better said, was forced to marry- princess Amentia.

"You know what's weird? That we haven't found any undead yet," said Flora.

Suddenly, hordes of skeletons emerged from the ground, wiedling rusty swords and skull-shaped shields. The skeletons charged at them.

"...oops," said Flora sheepishly.

"Come on girls, Enchantix!" said Bloom, ready to transform.

"No!" said Sky. "Don't transform!"

"What?" asked Musa.

"You better save your energy for now. You'll need it," said Sky, activating his phantoblade.

"Yes, leave this to us," said Riven, doing the same.

"Come on, we can fight!" protested Aisha.

"There's a lot of negative energy concentrated in this place," said Marco. "I'm sure that you can feel it even better than me. In such places as this, your magic power will drain twice as fast."

"Yes, remember what happened when we went to the Underrealm," said Brandon.

"I'm afraid they're right," said Tecna. "We should let the boys take care of this. I'm sure that there are things far worse than a bunch of skeletons waiting for us."

"Besides, there's still that monster Kharel told us about," said Mirta.

"Make a circle around the girls!" commanded Sky. "Brandon, Riven, Marco, Black Lotus and I will fight the skeletons in close combat! Timmy, Helia and Nabu, cover our backs!"

And thus the specialists, Nabu, Marco and Black Lotus fought against what seemed to be a neverending wave of skeletons. While the mele fighters engaged the undead, Timmy, Helia and Nabu attacked from behind with their guns, laser string (which Helia used as a whip) and magic, respectively. Fortunately, the skeletons were the least powerful mooks of Gaul's army. They were dumb and easy to beat. After several minutes of fighting, the skeletons finally retreated.

"Done," said Timmy, checking that there were no more undead.

"God, I never felt so useless," said Tecna.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that next time we will find somebody worthy of your power," said Timmy, trying to cheer his girlfriend and the rest of the girls.

Suddenly, Gaul appeared before them. Everybody gasped and jumped backwards at the sudden presence of the undead sorcerer.

"Timmy, did I mention how much I hate you?" said Riven bitterly, ready to fight.

Nabu attacked first, casting an energy blast at the Lich. However, the blast simply phased through its target.

"Relax, wizard. I didn't come here to fight," said Gaul. "At least not now."

"I see. An hologram. Or some sort of projection," said Tecna.

"What do you want?" asked Galatea. "As the crown princess of this planet, I demand you-"

"I know who you are, little girl," said Gaul, interrupting Galatea. "And I came here to welcome my guests the way they deserve. Just because we're deathsworn enemies doesn't mean that there's no room for politeness, does it?."

"Are you mocking us?" said Sky in anger. "You dare to talk about politeness after what you and your master did to Eraklyon!"

"Oh my, you're really a rancorous guy, aren't you? You need to forget about the past," Gaul said. "Anyway, I'm here to show you everything this improvised lab holds. Some of my creations... and the fate that waits for your kind. I'll be waiting for you in the deepest room of this hideout. Let's see if you can make it there alive. If you do, there will be a little surprise waiting for you. HAHAHAHAHAHA!" And the image of the Lich vanished.

"This confirms our suspicions. He was waiting for us, " said Nabu. "What are we going to do now?"

"We will continue," Musa declared. "Come on."

And thus, the group continued their journey through Gaul's laboratory. They no longer needed the flashlights upon arriving to a zone that was illuminated by torches.

"Well, some light finally," said Stella. "Even if it's not the sun."

"It's a good thing, since the flashlights would run out of energy at some point," Timmy said.

"Hey, don't you find this a bit weird?" asked Tecna.

"What do you mean?" asked Bloom.

"Why this place would need light. Undead do not like light, nor do they need it to see. Yet this place is illuminated. Why? It isn't logical," said Tecna.

"Well... maybe there's something here that isn't a living corpse," Mirta conjectured. "You said before that there were more than undead roaming through these catacombs."

"Guys... we're not alone," said Marco, activating his phantoblade.

"What? There's nobody here," said Aisha, looking around.

"No, there's something here," said Galatea. "I heard footsteps that don't belong to any of us."

"I heard it too. We have to be careful," said Musa.

"When Mirta and I went to Cloud Tower some months ago, we were attacked by ghosts that could turn invisible," said Flora.

"But they said that they heard footsteps! And ghosts don't walk," said Riven.

"There's a way to know if we're alone," said Mirta, and put the palms of her hands together. "Reverse darkness!"

A wave of dark energy crossed the place, revealing for less than a second skeletal warriors wearing black clothes and partial armor, wielding double bladed weapons. Still invisible, one of them attacked, but since Marco could sense their presence, parried a blow destined for Flora. The skeleton became visible again after attacking.

"I think that this is worth transforming," Aisha said. "Enchantix!"

Following Aisha, the girls transformed into their Enchantix outfits (sans Galatea, who transformed into the standard fairy form), while the specialists activated their weapons.

"Damn! Were are they?" asked Sky nervously looking around.

"I sense eight. They're all around us," said Marco.

"But how are we going to fight them if we can't see them?" asked Brandon, waving his sword in a futile attempt at hitting something.

"Riven! To your right!" yelled Musa.

The maroon haired specialist raised his sword and was able to parry an incoming blow. Like before, the undead turned visible.

"It's time now! Morphix Missile!" yelled Aisha, casting an arrow-shaped morphix blast. The attack hit the undead knocking it backwards, but wasn't strong enough to destroy it completely. The skeleton became invisible again.

"_Oh, I see that you already met my undead assassins- They're one of my greatest creations. A fine addition to my army. Silent as mist, deadly as poison," _Gaul's voice echoed. _"Let's see how well you fare against them!"_

"Just wait and see, Lich!" yelled Bloom. "Stella will blast those creeps away in a moment!"

"I don't think that I have enough power to do that..." said Stella, doubtfully.

"You can do it if Mirta and I empower you," said Bloom. "Come on Mirta, use your magic to boost Stella's power like you did with me on Eraklyon, and I'll do the same! Flame of Life!" A dragon-shaped energy beam came out of Bloom's hands and wrapped around Stella.

"Vigorous Heart!" Mirta cast an orange beam of energy at the Princess of Solaria, who felt a massive surge of energy running through her body.

"What a rush!I feel like I could do anything!" said Stella, glowing gold.

"Come on Stella, wipe them out!" said Brandon.

"Cover your eyes, since there's going to be a hell of a lot of light! Now, you wretched creatures, feel the power of... my power! Supernova!" said Stella, releasing an intense wave of light that filled the place.

"Boy, that was amazing!" said Brandon, when Stella's attack stopped.

"There's no way the undead could have resisted something like that," said Helia. "But just to be safe, Marco, check that they are dead for sure."

"Alright," said Marco, focusing on sensing any surviving undead.

"Watch out!" yelled Galatea, casting sonic waves at Helia. The waves crashed against an invisible undead assassin who was about to impale the blue haired specialist. The skeleton turned visible after the sound wave crashed against him, hurling him backwards.

"One of them survivied?" asked Nabu.

"Not just one! All of them!" said Marco, overwhelmed.

"What? My attack had no effect?" asked Stella in frustration.

"_Oh, did I mention that the undead assassins are sunlight-proof?"_ Gaul's voice echoed again.

"You could have told us that before!" yelled Stella angrily.

"Stella, he's the enemy. I don't think that he's going to give us any clue about how to beat his minions," said Musa.

"Well, he could!"

"Girls, focus! There's a bunch of skeletons who want to kill us!" said Flora, appealing to reason.

"But how are we going to fight against something that we can't see?" asked Mirta. "Arthaia didn't train us for this."

"No, but she trained us to use our imagination to overcome any challenge. These guys must have some kind of weak point," said Flora. "So we should focus on finding it."

"That's a good idea, Flora," said Bloom. "Maybe they're invisible, but Musa and Galatea can hear them, and Marco can sense their presence, so we aren't completely blind."

"Meanwhile, focus on finding a weakness we can exploit!" said Aisha.

"I already did," stated Tecna.

"So soon? Wow," said Galatea in awe.

"Although I don't know if it can be considered a weakness..." said Tecna, doubtful.

"It's better than nothing. What do you have?" asked Musa.

"You probably saw that there are times in which the invisibility breaks. I noticed that they become visible whenever they attack. That would mean that, whenever something touches them, they can no longer remain hidden," Tecna explained.

"So we have to attack them when they're visible, right?" asked Stella.

"However they'll regain their invisibility once the contact is broken. However, this isn't instant. It takes exactly one point seventy two seconds. That's all the time we have to hit them."

"Then we better not fail," said Aisha.

"We should take the high ground, and cover the boys from above," suggested Flora.

"Alright, let's go! Whenever a skeleton appears, attack him with all your might!" said Bloom, as she and the rest of the fairies elevated in mid air.

"Girls, be careful! Half the skeletons are crawling the walls!" Marco advised.

"Guess that they aren't going to give up on us," said Mirta.

"We aren't going to give up on them either," said Aisha.

Several knives flew from nowhere at the girls. Tecna quickly cast a protective shield, blocking them..

"Flora! Behind you!" warned Musa.

The fairy of nature turned back and cast a spell. "Nature Symphony!" a powerful wind came out of the fairy's hand, making the skeleton visible and pushing him backwards.

"NOW!" yelled Tecna.

Aisha, Stella and Musa cast morphix balls, bolts of golden light and sonic waves respectively, obliterating the undead warrior.

"Yay! One less to go!" cheered Stella.

"Aisha, above you!" said Galatea.

The fairy of Andros created a spear made of morphix, and used it to parry the undead's blow. She then summoned a string of mnorphix that wrapped around the skeleton.

"This guy's going nowhere! Now, hit him!" said Layla.

The trapped skeleton met his end when he was blasted by Bloom's fire stream, Mirta's energy blasts and Galatea's sound waves.

Meanwhile, on the floor, the boys were fighting against the other half of undead assassins. Since it was a hand-to-hand combat, the assassins were almost never invisible, but this didn't make things easier for the specialists. The melee fighters were having a hard time against them, and the ranged fighters such as Nabu or Timmy were unable to land a single hit since they used their double bladed swords to block the attacks.

"This is getting us nowhere!" said Riven, parrying a blow.

"We have think in a way to dispose them permanently, and fast," Brandon urged. "These guys are skilled and don't seem to get tired."

"I may have an idea," said Helia. "Timmy, Nabu, get ready."

When the blue haired specialist found a vulnerable spot in one of the undead assassins, he tied him with his glove string. He then pulled the string, raising the skeleton above them.

"Now, destroy him!" said Helia.

Nabu cast a blue blast of energy and Timmy fired a salvo of laser shots. The undead was reduced to a few bone shards.

"Good one Helia! Once again!" said Sky.

Helia tried to repeat the tactic again, but when he trapped another skeleton, another one appeared and cut the string fast as lightning.

"Even if they are undead, they can learn from their enemies," deduced Black Lotus.

"That Lich's skilled," said Nabu. "I never heard of any necromancer being able to give such a level of intelligence to their minions"

"Girls! We'd appreciate some help over here!" said Brandon.

"I think that this is a good chance to use a new spell I created," said Bloom. "Enchanted Dragon Fire Blade!" Bloom created several dragon shaped streams of fire that wrapped around the specialists' weapons, which acquired a fiery glow. "I imbued your weapons with the Dragon Fire. That should ease the fight!"

Sky, Brandon, Riven, Helia, Marco and Black Lotus felt that their blows become much more powerful. The undead were having more trouble blocking Timmy's shots and Nabu's spells. The undead couldn't resist and succumbed to the power of the Dragon Fire combined with the specialists' skill in armed combat. Meanwhile, above them, thanks to Musa and Galatea's sharp ears, the fairies had already destroyed the remaining skeletal assassins. When the fight was over, the Winx returned to their civilian outfits.

"Now I understand what Sky said before," Aisha said. "I could feel this place devouring my energy."

"Yes, I'm really exhausted," said Stella, gasping for air.

"Same here," said Galatea. "I will be forced to use the Charmix for the next fight."

"_Oh, you managed to defeat my coldest warriors! Your skill and power is worth praising!"_ Gaul's voice said. _"However, there are more challenges ahead of you. Do you still have energy to continue? HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

"Show yourself, coward!" yelled Riven. "Stop hiding behind your puppets!"

"There's no point in yelling. We have to continue, and be ready for whatever we may find," said Timmy.

"Let's go then," said Bloom.

They kept walking, wary of any foe they might encounter. The more they walked, the more uncomfortable they felt, like they were approaching some sort of evil entity so powerful that its presence was enough to drain life away. They stopped upon finding that there were several doors across the path.

"The path continues forward, but I'd like to inspect those rooms," said Nabu.

"What if we find more enemies?" asked Stella.

"Then we'll destroy them," stated Marco. "I'm with Nabu. I want to see what that Lich has been doing here."

"Maybe we can find something useful," said Tecna.

"Okay, but be careful. We don't know what could be waiting behind those doors," warned Sky.

They split into smaller groups and inspected the rooms. One of the rooms was a large place with iron tables, vitrines filled with bottles of unknown chemicals, bookshelves, and vials (many of which were broken and scattered across the floor).

"This looks to be a potion lab, just like those at Cloud Tower," said Mirta, looking around.

"I think we found his workplace," said Nabu.

"Wait, isn't that guy a necromancer? Why would he need a potion lab?" asked Aisha.

"The Ancient Witch Coven had lots of expert chemists among their ranks. They made potions that would increase the strength, resistance and power of their troops," explained Mirta. "In fact, witches tend to use potions much more than fairies, wizards or others. While the latter would use potions only when needed, such as an antidote for a poison or other medical purposes, the former use potions for many more things, such as boosting their energy, poisons, to help themselves with some spells or even as weapons."

"Then witches aren't as strong as they claim if they need to rely so heavily on potions," said Marco.

"It isn't a matter of power, but versatility," said Mirta.

"Come again?"

"Let me explain it to you," interjected Nabu. "Dark magic tends to focus almost exclusively on curses, hexes, and offensive spells, that's why they tend to be better combatants. However, even if light magic is much less destructive, it can be used for many more things, such as healing wounds, befriend animals and plants, alter the environment..."

"I see," said Marco, trying to understand.

"So, the question would be: what was he doing here?" asked Brandon.

"Hmmm..." said Mirta, pensive. "I think that he was trying to improve his undead minions."

"Do you think that he used some potions to make them resistant to my magic?" asked Stella.

"Probably."

"At first I thought that fighting against undead wasn't a big deal. But after what we just saw, I can't imagine what kind of monsters we may face in the future," said Brandon.

"Oh, come on, Brandon, at this stage a bunch of skeletons shouldn't be enough to scare you," chuckled Sky.

"I know, but this guy seems to be in a completely different league."

"By the way, don't you find a bit weird that this laboratory is completely unguarded?" asked Sky. "We could take these books or any potions he had created."

"I think it's abandoned," said Marco.

"Agreed. In fact, these books are very basic, and there are no potions here, just ingredients to make them," deduced Aisha.

"Come on, let's go. This has been a waste of time," said Nabu.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, the rest of the group arrived at a huge room filled with beds. This was nevertheless confusing.

"Beds?" asked Flora. "Why would zombies need beds?"

"This confirms my suspicions: besides the undead there were living people here," said Tecna.

"People? What kind of people? Prisoners?" asked Galatea, afraid.

"Maybe," said Riven. "Remember that many villages were attacked by undead. Maybe their purpose was to kidnap people."

"But why?" asked Musa. "What does that madman plan to do?"

"No, these people weren't prisoners," said Black Lotus.

"How can you tell?" asked Helia.

"Because if they were prisoners, they'd be held in dungeon cells, not placed in bedrooms," Black Lotus explained.

"Then...?"

"Maybe Gaul doesn't just use undead minions," ventured Timmy.

"Still, this place looks to be abandoned," said Tecna. "Come on, let's rejoin the others."

The group gathered again, and shared what they saw, and everything made perfect sense. There's no way Gaul could make by himself all those accomplishments so fast. He had several chemists and potion experts working under him. What everybody wondered was: who would be mad enough to work for a Lich on such sinister projects?

"Mercenaries," Riven suggested. "There are lots of people willing to do anything for money. Chemists included."

"Would you?" asked Musa, raising an eyebrow.

"It depends on how much they'd pay me," said Riven, but upon seeing Musa staring at him with wide eyes, he said: "Just kidding! In Red Fountain they also teach us what to fight for besides just fighting."

"Silence!" Marco said with a shushing motion.

"Something wrong?" asked Mirta. "Undead?"

"Yes, but not just that," said Marco. "He's coming too."

Everybody gasped upon hearing that.

"It seems that, in the end, he grew bored and came to face us," said Flora.

"Don't be afraid! This is our chance to get rid of that monster forever!" said Bloom.

"Yes, we will fight like we never have before!" said Musa.

A cloud of purple smoke appeared before them. When the smoke vanished, they could see the Lich surrounded by a large group of (apparently) regular skeletal warriors, plus five hooded figures that wore black cloaks and wielded staffs.

"Hello, kids," said Gaul. "As I said before, I'm certainly impressed by how much you improved since our last meeting, and I couldn't resist but check you out personally."

"Those guys aren't undead, but human," whispered Mirta. "I can sense their emotions."

"Come on, let's finish this, here and now! Winx Enchantix!" said Bloom, and she and the rest of the fairies transformed.

"Oh, but this isn't the end, little fairies," said Gaul. "And while I take care of the boys, I have something special for you. Dark fairies, go!"

Three fairies appeared flying above Gaul. Their skin tones went from an unnatural pale gray to light blue, and their hair was of a similar color. They had big, glowing, lifeless eyes. They wore the usual fairy clothes, only with pale colors in contrast with the bright colors normal fairies wear. Their faces were completely devoid of any emotion.

"Watch closely fairies, because THIS IS YOUR FATE! Now crush them!" shouted the Lich.

Gaul's minions charged into battle. The specialists activated their weapons to fight them, while the fairies faced their dark counterparts.

"Let's see of you can beat my dark fairies," said Gaul. Come on girls, show them your power."

"Raging Sandstorm!" yelled the dark fairy with pale grey skin and blue, shoulder length hair, summoning a twister of sand around the Winx girls.

"Ugh, I can't see anything!" said Stella shielding her eyes.

"This sandstorm is too strong! It will tear us apart if we stay in it!" warned Tecna.

"Let's hope this works. Fairy dust!" said Flora, releasing the fairy dust from the bottle attached to her necklace. Like she expected, the sandstorm stopped.

"Good one, Flora!" praised Mirta.

"They may be fairies, but they use dark magic. That's why I thought that the fairy dust would work," said Flora smiling.

"Force of Chaos!" shouted a dark fairy with pale white skin and dark gray hair. A glowing aura that constantly changed its colors surrounded the Winx.

"Girls, don't you feel weird?" asked Aisha, rubbing her forehead.

"Come on, we can't just stay here and take their attacks! Dragon Fury!" said Bloom, summoning a dragon made of fire out of her hands.

The dragon, instead of flying against the dark fairies like Bloom was thinking, started to tremble and fly in random directions, crashing against the walls, until it finally disappeared.

"Bloom, what happened?" asked Musa.

"I don't know! I couldn't control the attack! It's like my powers had life on its own!" said Bloom.

"I bet is this cursed aura which is meddling with our powers!" deduced Galatea.

The three dark fairies cast shadowy beams at the Winx. Aisha unconsciously cast a protective shield, however she released a shockwave instead that knocked her friends and foes alike.

"Aisha!"yelled Stella.

"Sorry, it was a natural reaction," Aisha apologized.

"Still, it wasn't such a bad move," said Bloom, looking at the dark fairies standing up. "First of all, we have to break this aura!"

"We could join our powers to create a field of positive energy that would nullify the aura upon contact," Tecna suggested.

"Alright, let's do it," said Musa.

The eight girls held hands together and concentrated. Soon they started to glow blue, and the glow became more and more intense, until the multicolored aura vanished.

"Ha! Those fake fairies have nothing on us!" said Musa.

The dark fairies attacked again, this time casting blazes of white fire. Tecna and Flora cast a protective shield that blocked the fire.

"Come on Musa, this is our chance!" said Bloom, as she and Musa prepared to attack. "Convergence: Dragon Roar!"

A huge dragon appeared behind them. It opened its jaws and let out a fiery roar that hurled the dark fairies backwards.

"You should be careful, Winx. Remember that you're attacking innocent fairies," said Gaul. "What are you going to do?"

"I think that this is time to use the White Seal," said Mirta. The rest of the girls agreed.

"The White Seal? What's that?" asked Galatea.

"It's a spell we learned in Lumyon," said Tecna.

**Flashback**

_In Lumyon, the girls were training under Arthaia's eyes._

"_Today, I'll teach you a very special spell that you'll need in the future: the White Seal."_

"_And why's it's so necessary?" asked Musa._

"_Because you'll probably face corrupted fairies in the near future, and killing them isn't an option. However, with this spell, you'll be able to trap them inside a magic pot. The pot then will automatically teleport here, where that fairy will be safe."_

"_That's great!" said Mirta. _

"_Yes. That way we won't hurt them. They're innocent fairies after all," said Flora._

"_That's not entirely true. In order for the spell to work, you'll need to weaken the target first. Otherwise, she will escape."_

"_Like a pokeball," said Bloom. The rest of the girls turned to her and stared at her puzzled._

"_Like what?" asked Tecna, confused._

"_Nevermind."_

**End Flashback**

"We only need three of us to cast the spell. Musa, Flora and I will do it. The rest can continue the fight," said Bloom.

"Here they come!" warned Tecna.

"This is my turn to SHINE!" said Stella, taking her ring out of her hand and turning it into a scepter. "Solar Pulse!"

The scepter cast a huge golden beam at the dark fairies, which replied by casting shadow beams. The two beams collided against each other, pushing forward and backwards, until the energy was so intense that it caused an explosion. The three dark fairies got pushed back, but Stella wasn't harmed.

"What do you think about that?" asked Stella smugly.

"You used too much energy, Stella. You won't be able to keep fighting if you don't rest first," said Tecna.

"The White Seal, now!" said Aisha.

Bloom, Musa and Flora began to cast the spell. They emitted a while glow, and a white circle appeared on the floor around them. Several runes and symbols appeared inside the circle as well.

"By the power of the light, we summon the White Seal!" said the three fairies in unison. "White Seal: Opened!"

A clay pot appeared in the center of the circle. Also, a white glowing aura surrounded one of the dark fairies. Her body was slowly turning into pure energy until she was nothing but a mass of light. The mass then arced towards the pot.

"White Seal: Closed!" said Bloom, Flora and Musa in unison after the mass of energy was completely itnroduced inside the pot. Several white bandages wrapped around the pot, sealing it completely. The pot then disappeared.

"Great, one down, two more to go!" said Galatea.

Meanwhile, on the floor, the guys were facing Gaul and his small army. The skeletons were a piece of cake, but the cloaked guys with staves, who used magic to fight, were much harder.

"Mirta was right. These guys are human, indeed," said Brandon, parrying a bolt of dark energy with his phantoblade.

"What are you doing, Lich? Who are these people?" asked Helia.

"More slaves of your dark magic?" asked Nabu.

"Oh, no. These are my acolytes. They follow me willingly. They serve me, and I teach them the secrets of necromancy in return," said Gaul., he then turned at his acolytes. "Why don't you show them what you've learned from me?"

"It will be a pleasure, my liege," said one of the acolytes, gathering dark energy on his hands. "Nocturne Swarm!"

The acolyte summoned a huge amount of bats that flew in circles around the specialists. The boys tried to protect themselves from the bats by waving their weapons aimlessly in a vain effort of killing them. Timmy loaded his guns with a special kind of bullet he designed, and shot at the bats. Upon hitting a bat, the bullet exploded in a ball of fire that burned the bats to ashes.

"How do you like my new invention? I call them inferno bullets," said Timmy, cocking his guns.

"Your petty weapons are no match for my deadly power! Scream of Terror!" said Gaul, casting several dark beams at the specialists.

"Shield of the Brave!" said Marco, summoning a huge golden shield in front of the group that blocked the attack.

"I'll keep the acolytes on hold, you guys focus on the lich!" Black Lotus said, and leaped towards the acolytes, trying to draw their attention.

"I'll help you! Said Helia, tying an acolyte with his laser string.

Timmy fired his inferno bullets at the Lich, and the undead sorcerer was engulfed by flames. Sky, Brandon, Riven and Marco dashed at him ready to slash him to pieces. However, the lich put the fire off with a single wave of his hand, and when the specialists and the paladin were about to hit him, he released a bolt of red lightning, stopping them.

"You'll need to do better than that," said the lich bitterly.

"He's too powerful," said Sky, gasping for air.

"Even if he's vulnerable in close combat, he won't let us to come close to him," said Brandon, helping Sky to stand up.

"And my magic doesn't work well here," said Marco.

"Then leave it to me," said Nabu with determined look on his face, taking a step forward.

"Are you insane! There's no way you can fight that freak alone!" said Riven, grabbing Nabu by the forearm.

"I won't do it alone. I'll fight with every inch of my power, and thus I'll force him to focus on me. When you find a vulnerable spot, then attack with all your strength," said Nabu.

"But that's too dangerous! If you over-exhaust yourself, you'll die! Remember that our power drains several times faster here," Marco reminded the wizard.

"I know what I'm doing," said Nabu. "Besides, this is not the first time I've fought against that monster."

"Ah, Nabu. Finally, a worthy opponent," said Gaul in delight. "Or do you plan to accept my offer and become my apprentice?"

"Maybe in your wildest dreams," Nabu grimaced.

"Then die!" said Gaul, casting another blast of red lightning at the wizard.

Nabu summoned an energy bubble that gathered the lightning inside. The more electricity it gathered, the bigger it became. Nabu then motioned his hands towards the lich and the red lightning returned at him. Gaul cast a shield that absorbed the attack.

"Not bad, wizard," said Gaul. His middle and index fingers started to spark with a red light. "But if I concentrate the energy in a single beam, you won't be able to redirect it! And you won't be able to stop it nor dodge it!"

Gaul released a thick beam of red light at the wizard, but Nabu was aware of the lich power, and was prepared. He spun his staff, which started to shine with a purple glow, and used it to stop the attack. Gaul was right. The beam was to powerful to block, and to fast to dodge. However, Nabu used his staff to create a whirlpool of energy that would dissipate the beam, splitting it into smaller beams that were easier to redirect.

"You fell in my trap, lich," said Nabu with a confident grin. "Now!"

Fast as lightning, Sky and Riven dashed towards the lich and slashed his arms.

"Now you can't cast spells anymore," said Sky.

"Nabu, it's time for the killing blow!" said Riven.

But Nabu already knew, and was already charging his finishing move. His right hand glowed with an intense white light. He then motioned his right hand at the light and yelled: "Universal Push!"

The wizard released a telekinetic wave of unbelievable power that sent him flying at near imperceptible speed, until he crashed against a wall, breaking into small shards of bone.

"Nabu, you did it!" said Riven in joy. "You finally killed that monster!"

"You're the best, Nabu!" said Sky, patting his back.

"That was incredible!" said Timmy.

"Yeah, that was the most powerful spell I ever saw," said Helia. "Don't you feel tired?"

Nabu then realized that no, he wasn't tired. And he shouldn't be even able to move.

"No, I feel fine," said Nabu. "Weird, isn't it?" he said with a smile.

"Maybe it's weird... maybe it's not..." said Marco enigmatically.

"What do you mean?" asked Nabu.

"Come on Nabu, you should have realized by now that there's something wrong here," said Brandon. "Just take a closer look."

Nabu didn't know what was going on. And then, before his horrified eyes, his friends started to melt.

"Guys! What's happening to you! What's going on?" asked Nabu. Suddenly, everything melted as well until he was in an empty, pitch black space. He only was answered by a mad laugh.

"_You fell into my trap, wizard,"_ Gaul's voice echoed. The lich then appeared before his eyes.

"What did you do to me? Is this an illusion?" asked Nabu in the verge of panic. "What do you want?"

"I just want to show you the future that awaits you if you follow the path you've chosen," said the lich. "Or better yet, the future that awaits the person you love the most," said Gaul with a such delighted voice that it almost sounded obscene.

"What...?"

"Don't say anything, and look," said Gaul.

The next second, Nabu found himself in a different place. He was inside a a big and luxurious place. It was a familiar place. Well, not familiar, but he's been there before. Then it hit him: it was the Royal Palace of Domino. However, the palace was completely wrecked: cracked walls, falling debris, the roof crumbling... he could hear a battle going outside... and another fight going in the next room. Curious, he walked into the adjacent room, only to see Aisha fighting against Kharel. The princess of Andros attacked him with bolts of morphix, but the red knight easily deflected them with his sword. He cornered Aisha against a wall, and said:

"You should know better than fighting against me directly, fairy."

And in front of Nabu, he stabbed her in the chest.

"NO!" yelled Nabu, as everything faded to black again.

"This is the fate of your beloved Aisha," said Gaul. "But this fate can be changed."

"No, I won't believe you! That's a lie!" screamed the wizard. "That's not going to happen!"

"You're free to believe me or not," Gaul said. "But to make sure that you'll think about it, I'll burn this scene in your brain. It will haunt you until the moment you saw happens."

And what happened in the real world? Well, Nabu suddenly fainted redirecting the Lich's attack for the first time, much to his teammates horror.

"Nabu! Nabu! Wake up!" said Riven, shaking Nabu's body.

"That lich took down Nabu!" shouted Sky.

Aisha couldn't help but hear this, looked down, and saw in horror Nabu's unconscious body lying on the floor. She abandoned the fight against the last dark fairy and immediately went to check if she was okay.

"Nabu! Nabu, my love, wake up, please!" said Aisha, slowly cradling his body, almost crying. She then looked at the lich with hate filled eyes. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM!"

"Oh, nothing. He's fine. He'll be awake in a few minutes. In fact I need him alive for-" and Gaul suddenly paused. He was sensing something. It was time. It was going to happen, and the Winx had to see it. "Acolytes, fall back!"

One of the acolytes turned at Gaul with an incredulous look. "But master, we have them-"

"SILENCE, MEATBAG! Don't dare to question my orders!" the lich yelled.

"As you say, master," said the acolyte, as he and his comrades vanished.

"And you," said Gaul to the fairies and specialists. "Meet me in the room at the end of this hallway. You'll see the surprise I've been preparing for you!"

And he vanished as well.

After sealing away the third and last dark fairy, the winx fairies returned to their civilian outfits and landed on the floor. They watched Aisha with Nabu's body cradled in her arms.

"Aisha, can I...?" asked Bloom. Aisha moved aside so Bloom could heal her beloved. Bloom placed her hands on Nabu's chest, and called for the Great Dragon's power. Her hands glowed orange, and Nabu opened his eyes.

"Nabu!" said Aisha, hugging him. "I thought I lost you!"

"Are you okay?" asked Riven.

"Yes... I'm fine..." said the wizard, using his staff to stand up.

"Okay, what are we going to do now?" asked Mirta.

"Finish this once for all," said Musa, walking forwards. The rest followed her. It was a long hallway, but they could see the door the Lich talked about.

"_Darkness is intense in this place, and do you know why?" _Gaul's voice echoed. _"These catacombs were used by an ancient coven of dark mages that lived on Melody to bury their dead. The remaining negative energy of the corpses impregnated this place. A long time ago, the monarchs of Melody drove the coven away and exhumed the bodies and burned them in hopes of purifying this place, but the darkness didn't disappear. This place was perfect for my baby to hatch. And soon, you'll be part of the darkness that taints this land."_

"That would explain why our powers are much weaker," said Galatea. "We better end this as soon as possible."

"So, this is a well of darkness," said Mirta.

"What?" asked Flora

"A place where dark energy is very strong for some reason. It can be formed due to many circumstances," said Mirta.

"How do you know that?" Musa asked.

"I studied at Cloud Tower, remember?" said Mirta, smiling.

They arrived at the room. They opened the door, and entered, only to find Gaul and a strange cocoon, which was pulsing.

"I'm so glad to see that you accepted my offer," said Gaul.

"Shut up! We came here to destroy you!" shouted Musa.

"Save your energies, fairy of music. You'll need them soon," said the Lich.

"What's that... thing?" asked Stella.

"My latest creation," said Gaul. "You know, I always found you fairies interesting. You're strong creatures. When you achieve your Enchantix, your power becomes several times more intense. And then I thought, what if I could make use of such extraordinary power?"

"What are you saying?" said Bloom. "wait... is there a fairy inside that cocoon?"

"Not exactly. It was _once_ a fairy. A dark fairy from Eraklyon," said Gaul. The cocoon started to crack. "This new fairy I created will harness the power of both light and darkness, and will become stronger the stronger her enemies are! The powers of the cold dark and the Enchantix fused in one single being!"

As Gaul spoke, the cocoon broke completely, freeing the creature within. It was a woman with pale gray skin and glowing white hair. She was dressed with a white top and a white skirt. Two huge gray, blue and green wings sprouted on her back.

"That's a..dark fairy?" asked Flora.

"Yes, but she's much more powerful than those we fought before!" warned Tecna. "Her magical energy is _absurd_!"

"Behold the final evolution of the dark fairy, the Banshee! Behold a power like no one before! BEHOLD YOUR DOOM!"

"We don't fear your dopey dark fairy! We will beat her like the rest!" said Bloom. "Winx Enchantix!"

"Fools! You have no idea of the horrors you're about to face..." Gaul said.

* * *

**So, the Winx finally found Gaul's creation. Will they will be able to defeat it, or it will be their end? I hope it's not the latter, bceause that would mean the end of the story as well XD! Hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to review.**


	25. The Protectress of Melody

**Chapter 25: The Protectress of Melody**

The fairies and specialists were standing in front of Gaul's creation, an unnatural fairy/witch hybrid, staring at her in complete awe, like the world around them ceased to exist.

"Ah, silence, the reaction I was aiming for," said Gaul in delight. "No sarcastic comebacks, no shallow threats... just awe... and fear..."

That tore it for one fairy.

"FEAR?" Musa bellowed with such a deafening volume it was unknown even to her. "Do you think we're afraid of that... _thing_?"

"Spoke too soon, did I?" Gaul asked, shaking his skull. "Well, let's check the power of this creature! Come on my dear banshee, make them scream!"

"Come on girls, let's teach that cheap knockoff what a true fairy is made of!" said Bloom, summoning a ball of fire between her hands. "Dragon Fury!" Bloom released a stream of fire with the shape of a dragon.

"Electric Storm!" said Tecna, casting an array of green lightning bolts.

"Sonic Blast!" said Musa, casting destructive waves of sound.

The three attacks collided, making a huge explosion.

"Did we get her...?" asked Bloom.

"No! Up there!" said Musa, pointing to the banshee, hovering several meters above the place were the three beams clashed.

"Now that's speed," said Tecna. "I'd swear our attacks hit her!"

The banshee opened her arms, and her hands began to crackle with electricity. She quickly motioned her hands forward while yelling "Thundering Wrath!"

The banshee released a powerful stream of lightning from her hands, blasting Bloom, Musa and Tecna, hurling them against a wall. Their respective boyfriends hurried to check if they were okay.

"Musa!" said Riven, while helping the fairy of music to stand up. "Are you- ouch!" the maroon haired specialist was shocked upon touching Musa.

"Yes, I'm... okay..." Musa said between pants and flinches caused by electricity.

"Not even Stormy's lightning is that powerful," said Tecna, thoughtfully, while Timmy helped her to stand up.

"Girls, are you hurt?" asked Galatea.

"Yes," said Bloom, flinching as well due to the leftover electricity. "But it's nothing that the Dragon Fire can't heal. I'll just need you to cover us meanwhile."

"Ha ha! Is my banshee too much for you?" Gaul mocked, "Giving up already?"

"Never!" shouted Aisha, standing in the middle of the remaining fairies. "Don't worry Bloom, you can count on us!"

The banshee prepared to attack again.

"Star Cross!" the corrupted fairy said. She formed a ball of white light between her hands. The ball then exploded, releasing numerous bolts of white light at the Winx. They raised defensive shields for protection, but they still took some damage from the powerful blast. But the banshee wasn't done yet, and she prepared for another attack before the Winx girls were able to recover. She aimed her index and middle middle finger at the agonized fairies, and said: "Death whisper."

A purple bolt of energy fired from her fingers at the Winx. However, before it could hit any of them, Musa stood up and chanted a counter attack.

"Magic Echo!" the fairy of music said. She cast sound waves that crashed against the dark fairy's finishing attack, and suddenly the beam turned back at its caster, knocking her back.

"Good one Musa! Now it's my turn!" said Galatea, standing up, raising her arms and placing her hands together. "Melodian Vice!"

She separated her hands, and generated three orange glowing orbs that spun around an invisible axis. The orbs then shot at the dazzled dark fairy, and generated strings of energy resembling music scores that wrapped around the banshee in a tight grip. The banshee squirmed, trying to break free.

"Yes!" said Galatea, pumping her fist. "This bad girl won't cause any more trouble, we should..."

But the princess of Melody was cut off when the dark fairy managed to break Galatea's spell, knocking her away due to the amount of magical energy unleashed. She looked at the banshee, who was grimaced with absolute hate at her.

The banshee's hand crackled with electricity, and fired a powerful lightning bolt at the princess of Melody. Galatea couldn't help but stare in horror at the attack that would mean her demise if it wasn't for a pair of arms that pulled her out of the beam's trajectory.

"You okay?" asked Mirta, but Galatea was still too busy panting in shock to reply.

"Y-yes," the bleach blonde finally managed to stutter, "Thank you."

"This creature is too powerful for you, Gally," Mirta said. "You'd better stand back."

"I'm with Mirta. Just leave this this to us," Flora agreed.

"You can help the guys," Musa suggested.

In another situation, Galatea would protest, since she didn't like being deemed useless, but she knew that it would be better for everybody. The Winx couldn't fight and protect her at the same time.

While the girls fought against the banshee, the boys couldn't help but stare in frustration due to their inability to help. But as Gaul floated towards them, they realized that soon they'd have something to do.

"Oh, I hate seeing such fine warriors like you staying there doing nothing," said the Lich, tapping his boney fingers. "How about if I play with you?"

"Why, during all the times we've met, do you keep focusing on us but send some kind of monster to fight the Winx?" Riven asked. "It looks like you're avoiding them."

"Are they too strong for you?" asked Helia in a mocking tone.

Gaul simply chuckled. "Your taunts are useless, but nice try at demoralizing me," said Gaul. "NOW DIE!" The Lich waved his hand, and an horde of floating wraiths appeared around Gaul, holding spectral scythes on their hands. "Say hello to my little friends!"

The specialists formed a circle back to back when the small army of ghosts charged at them. It should be noted that, since the specialists already fought against Gaul many times, they did know his modus operandi, and they weren't going to let him to lead the fight.

"Alright guys, you know what to do," said Sky while parrying a blow from a wraith. The others nodded in response.

"Thunder Tide!" said Nabu, stabbing his staff into the ground. The purple gem on its top glowed with an intensity akin to a star and sent a wave of electricity in every direction, repelling the ghosts but leaving the boys unharmed.

Immediately, Timmy pulled out his two ray guns and started to fire at the Lich relentlessly. Gaul used a shield to deflect the shots, but while he was doing this didn't notice a charging Marco. The paladin's sword was crackling with energy, and it unleashed an explosion of golden lights and sparks upon hitting the Lich's shield, forcing him to retreat.

Before the Lich could react, Helia's laser string was wrapped around Gaul's right arm, and was dragged to the ground when the blue haired specialist, as well as Brandon and Sky pulled together. When the Lich was on the ground, all of them dogpiled on him.

"Don't let him move!" said Brandon, trying to immobilize the skeleton sorcerer, who was stronger than he looked.

"You living scum! You're going to regret this!" Gaul yelled while shaking his body violently in an attempt to break free.

"Now what?" asked Timmy, holding the lich like the others.

"I think I could-" Nabu was about to say before being interrupted.

"Banshee, aid your master!" Gaul roared.

The corrupted fairy ignored the Winx and immediately came into the aid of Gaul. She opened her mouth and let out a deafening, high-pitched wail that hurt the specialists long enough for the skeletal wizard to push them away. The Winx also descended to check on the boys.

"You guys are okay?" asked Bloom as she helped Sky to stand up.

"Y...yes, but don't speak too loud!" Sky complained, grabbing the side of his head. "My ears hurt!"

"Let me take care of that," said Musa. She closed her eyes, and sang a soft but comforting melody. The victims of the banshee's wail began to feel much better.

"I don't know what you did, but it hurts much less now!"said Helia, spotting a bright smile.

"Isn't Musa awesome?" Riven beamed.

"Guys, could you leave the sugary moments for later? We still have a lich and a dark fairy willing to kill us," Marco said.

"I've tested my new creation enough already," said Gaul, as irritation leaked from his normally calm tone. He put his hands on the floor and yelled: "Swamp of the Underworld!"

A swamp appeared from nowhere and began to quickly spread and cover the floor with yucky and disgusting mud, however, it wasn't big enough to cover the whole floor. Moaning undead emerged from the mud and dragged themselves toward the fairies and specialists who were relatively safe on the mud-less areas. The specialists waited for the zombies to come out of the mud, and started to slay them, while being covered by the attacks of the girls from above.

The banshee decided to make her next move. "Breath of Armaggedon!" she shouted, her hands glowing white.

The banshee cast a stream of white energy rings at the Winx (since it's in her twisted and ravaged brain to kill any fairy on sight before anything else), but the group of fairies dodged the attack swiftly.

This time, it was Gaul who continued the attack. Placing the palm of his hands together, he said: "Wave of Death!"

The Lich released a big wave of black-edged green energy at the battlegrounds which hit friends and foes alike. The Winx protected themselves and the specialists with a shield, which was in danger of breaking. Gaul's undead minions seemed unharmed by the attack.

"Man, we can't keep doing this forever," said Riven in exhaustion.

"Yes. The longer the battle lasts, the lower our probability of victory," Tecna reasoned.

"Or survival," Aisha darkly added. "We need to take down that Lich, and fast."

Suddenly, Galatea's face lit when an idea came to her mind. "Hey, I think that I know something that can help us!" the crown princess said cheerily as she summoned a small harp.

"I don't think that this is the best moment to play music!" Stella yelled as she blasted away a zombie with a solar beam.

But, as the music played, they realized that the zombie's attacks and movements became slower and clumsier, being much easier to kill. Something seemed to hurt Gaul as well. Musa took a moment to realize what was going on.

"That's a requiem!" said Musa. "That type of music combined with her magic damages the undead!"

"Musa, can you play a requiem too?" asked Bloom.

A smirk appeared on Musa's face. "Ya think?" she asked, summoning her flute and playing the same melody as Galatea.

When Musa started playing, the undead-harming energy was so intense that some of them were starting to burn.

"Alright, this is our chance! Stella, I'm going to need some light!" said Flora, gathering the last remains of her energy.

"Right!" the fairy of Solaria said before flying above the small battleground, and making her body glow with an such an intense light that it looked to be the sun itself.

"Great Emerald Forest!" said Flora.

Suddenly, many trees started to grow from the mud Gaul had summoned, and were wrapping its branches against the now feeble undead mooks.

"Attack, now!" Bloom commanded. Everybody with magic power cast their most powerful spell at Gaul and his corrupted fairy, and those without, like the specialists, used their ranged weapons. However, the banshee had erected another wall of energy that blocked all the attacks.

"Aw man, not again," Timmy complained, upon seeing that all their efforts didn't pay off.

"Hey, wait a minute, where's Gaul?" asked Sky, who realized that the dark fairy was alone.

The Lich had taken advantage of all the confusion when the fairies' attacks clashed against his minion's shield, and teleported right behind Musa and Galatea. The undead wizard cast a spell, and soon the two Melodian fairies were suffocating in a cloud of purple gas.

"I'm tired of that cursed music," the Lich said, his voice full of hate. "And now I'm going to make sure that you never play an instrument again, _ever_."

"MUSA, NO!" yelled Riven as he saw in horror his girlfriend's life slowly fading. He pulled a bunch of shurikens from one of his bags, and tossed them at the Lich. Unfortunately, the banshee trapped the throwing weapons inside an energy sphere.

What the banshee couldn't stop was Black Lotus, who jumped on the dark fairy falling on her shoulders, and jumping once again at Gaul. The Melodian warrior kicked the Lich right in the skull, beheading him. The purple cloud disappeared, and Musa and Galatea breathed for their lives, enjoying the air that filled their burning lungs.

Gaul called his skull back with his telekinesis, and put it back on. He then gazed coldly at Black Lotus.

"You're going to pay for that..." the Lich whispered.

Black Lotus took a defensive stance, but that wouldn't be of any help against what was going to happen. He felt half a dozen of arms grab him and lift him into mid-air. He struggled, trying to break free, but it was no use. Mirta, who had an idea of what was going on, cast her Reverse Darkness spell again, revealing three wraiths holding the Melodian warrior.

Everybody wanted to help Black Lotus, but the banshee wouldn't allow it. Besides, now that Musa and Galatea were no longer playing the requiem, the lich's undead minions were recovering.

Without muttering a word, Gaul created a pitch black energy sphere between his hands, which became bigger the more he motioned his hands. When it was big enough, the tossed it at the helpless fighter.

"Sonic Cage!"

A pink sphere appeared around Black Lotus and his three captors that protected them against Gaul's powerful attack. The cage broke, but Black Lotus was relatively unharmed.

"You leave him alone!" Galatea said defiantly, as she stood between her bodyguard and the dreadful undead sorcerer.

"Gally, step back! He's too powerful for you!"

"Princess Galatea, no! Don't give your life for me, that's not the way it's supposed to go!" Black Lotus pleaded.

But Galatea didn't move. "I'm the future queen of this world, and it's my responsibility to protect its people and fight against any menace!" said Galatea. "But also, you're my family. You're like an older brother to me, and I won't let anybody harm you!"

"Brave but foolish, little fairy," the lich cackled. "You're just delaying the inevitable. These catacombs will be your last stand!"

"Wanna bet?"asked Galatea, summoning three spinning magic orbs on the palm of her hand. The orbs grew in size and they turned into music notes. The princess of Melody prepared to attack.

"You should listen to your friends, fairy. Your attacks won't harm me."

"I know," said Galatea, and turned back toward her bodyguard. She cast the three magic notes at the three wraiths, killing them and releasing Black Lotus.

But Galatea would pay for this. The second Black Lotus touched the ground, an energy blast hit her on the back, completely trashing her wings. But the damage taken by her wings (that she wouldn't be able to use to fly anymore) was meaningless compared to how much it harmed the rest of her body. Galatea stood there, motionless for a few seconds, her eyes wide open and her mouth half open, until she fell on her knees, and fell to the ground, motionless.

Black Lotus watched in horror the whole scene. He wanted to scream, to cry for his failure as protector of the crown princess, to cry for the end of his future queen, family member, and friend.

It seemed that time had stopped. The Winx and specialists kept fighting against the undead hordes commanded by Gaul's dark fairy, but they couldn't help but feel that everything happening around them was meaningless.

"Hahahaha! One stupid fairy less!" Gaul cackled maniacally.

Finally able to react, Black Lotus crawled to the motionless body of Galatea, and cradled it between his arms.

"You were like a sister to me too, Galatea," said Black Lotus, sheding a tear, not even bothering to call her by her title. "Forgive me, my princess. I failed you."

"Don't cry for her, meatbag," said Gaul as he approached and raised his hand, sparkling with deadly energy. "You'll meet her soon and... wait, what?"

However, there was something that confused the Melodian fighter. He expected her body to be cold, but instead it was very warm, and it gave off a very pleasant smell. Suddenly, Black Lotus' eyes grew wide as Galatea's body glowed with a pure white light, and it elevated mid air. Gaul retreated, since he already knew what was happening.

Everybody in the room felt how Galatea's body was overflowing with energy. As the light started to fade, they saw her, but she wasn't in her fairy outfit anymore: her new clothes were a sky blue top that covered her chest but exposed her belly, a golden skirt with sky blue trim, light blue barefoot strapped sandals, and golden long gloves. Her hair was now much longer, and it was styled in a huge braid. A small tiara crowned her head, and had a small necklace around her neck. Her new wins were much bigger, also shaped like trbol clefs, only blue with golden trims. Galatea finally opened her eyes, and smiled.

"I can't believe it..." said Black Lotus in awe. It was the first time that he had seen a fairy achieving her Enchantix form.

"Gally, you got your Enchantix!" Mirta beamed.

"You look beautiful!" said Musa.

Galatea simply giggled at the praise she got. "Okay, it's time to purge Melody from these wretched creatures!"

"Don't get so cocky because you got a new set of clothes, fairy!" Gaul bellowed. "You're still in _my_ playground! This place will drain your energy little by little, as it will be restoring mine and my minions! This means nothing in the long run!"

"Then we will have to end this already," said Musa, flying to the side of Galatea. "Listen, we're going to attack him, the two of us at once, and we will end his reign of terror forever!"

"Do you think that our power is enough?" asked Galatea, still unsure.

"Yes, if you do as I say," said Musa. "Before casting the spell, I want you to think of our beautiful world: its forests, lakes, mountains, animals, towns and cities, its people, your family, recall any good childhood memory..."

"I don't think I follow..."

"Just do it!" said Musa. She then turned to her friends. "I'll need you guys to cover us meanwhile!"

"Leave it to us!" said Aisha, forming a morphix bubble around the two Melodian fairies.

"Okay guys, I don't know what Musa plans to do, but I have a good feeling about it! We must protect her and Galatea! Fight like you never have before! Use every bit of your energy!" Bloom roused.

Gathering their last strands of energy, everybody put their soul in the fight. Fireballs and energy beams were cast, the last recovering spells were used and swords and other weapons slayed undead non stop. Everybody fought like that was their very last battle. However, when they couldn't continue the fight anymore, Musa and Galatea were done.

"We're ready! Undo the shield!" said Musa, and Aisha did so.

"Now, you wicked monster, you'll regret the day you and your aberrations lay a foot on Melody!" Galatea shouted.

"Ha! Give me your best shot!" the Lich would soon regret those words.

"Are you ready?" asked Musa.

"Ready as I ever be," Galatea nodded.

"Then..." the two said in unison as they glowed and ethereal music notes of many colors spun around them. "Convergence: Majestic Song of a Thousand Voices!"

The two fairies released a thick white beam that it looked like a music stave with music notes around it. Gaul was ready to block the attack, but the second before being hit, he realized that it was much more intense than he initially attack finally blasted Gaul, and the not-so-boasting-anymore Lich was engulfed in a white light. The Lich realized that the energy that was obliterating him wasn't just the combined attack of two fairies: those two fairies harnessed the power of the planet they were in, and used it against him.

"I'm sorry master!" were Gaul's last words before every bone of his body was turned into dust.

The attack, however, was so powerful that it also made the catacombs collapse. They couldn't cheer Gaul's demise since they were to busy running and dodging the falling debris until the roof collapsed completely, burying everything and everyone.

It appeared that it was the end for the Winx Club, but they had faced too many dangers already to die in such a unceremonious way. No, they managed to survive. Scattering in small groups, those with magic used their last drops of energy to form shields that saved everybody from being buried alive.

They found the unconscious body of the dark fairy, with a concussion on its forehead, probably of a falling rock. After Bloom healed her wounds, they trapped her with the White Seal, which was sent back to the safety of Lumyon.

Mangled, tired and wounded (Bloom and Flora's healing magic was just enough to make everybody be able to stand on their own, since they were also severely injured and drained from the long combat), fairies and warriors dragged their way out of the catacombs. But when they finally arrived at the surface, one final surprise was waiting for them.

"Ummm...I don't remember this place being so nice and bucolic," said Brandon, scratching the back of his head, looking around.

Yes. The place beneath the dark catacombs wasn't a wasteland anymore. It was a green prairie, with flowers of many colors decorating it. There were many country animals such as rabbits, squirrels or birds scampering around.

"What's going on? Is this an illusion?" asked Aisha.

"No...the darkness...is gone," Marco said. "The darkness is gone!"

"Yes, I can feel it too!" beamed Flora. "This land has been purified! It feels so good!"

"But...how?" asked Tecna.

"It was Musa and Galatea," Bloom deduced. "Their light was so strong that it drove the darkness away from this place, forever."

Musa and Galatea looked at each other, and couldn't help but smile. Then they looked at the land around her, and continued smiling, as the fear and anguish they felt in the past days was replaced by hope and joy. Galatea then rushed to Black Lotus, and hugged her bodyguard. Black Lotus ignored the protocol rules, and hugged her back.

The sight of the renewed and beautiful glade gave everybody new hope in the war against the Man in Black, but deep inside, all of them couldn't help but wonder what would be next.


	26. Goodbye, Melody

**Chapter 26: Goodbye, Melody**

The victory over Gaul and his recently created Banshee surely helped to boost the morale of the Winx Club, which had a hard time recovering from their huge defeat at Eraklyon. Now, with renewed hopes and energies, fairies and warriors, boys and girls, all of them saw the future under a new, promising light.

Melody was now safe, or that's what they wanted to think, at least. The patrols sent by the monarchs of the planet on reconnaissance missions always brought the same result: no undead were taunting the beautiful world of Melody any more. For the first time in many distressing days, they could sleep without the Man in Black haunting their dreams.

But not everybody was enjoying their dreams as placidly as they wished.

"Helloooooo, sleepy head," a familiar voice awoke Riven.

The specialist opened his eyes, stood up, and saw that he was in his Red Fountain uniform, in the middle of a known glade, talking to Musa's dead mother.

"Oh, it's you again," said Riven. "What do you want this time, Marilyn?"

"I came here to congratulate you for your success on Melody, as well as warn you about future dangers," the young woman said. Then she frowned, and added: "And my name is Maitlin!"

"Whatever."

"After the last thing I told you came true, are you still dismissing my advice? Now that's not very wise," Maitlin said, shaking her head.

"It's not that, it's just..." Riven began, and Maitlin stood there, expecting him to say something. "I don't like this stuff."

"This stuff?" Maitlin repeated. "Can you be a bit more concise?"

"Come on, I'm talking with a dead woman! And I don't even have magic powers," said Riven. "So excuse me if this situation makes me feel a little uncomfortable."

"I'm not like those living dead you saw before. I won't harm you," Maitlin offered a sincere smile, which Riven couldn't help but admire, mostly since it was almost identical to Musa's.

"So, what did you want to tell me now?"

"Always to the point, huh? Okay, I wanted to have some small talk with you, but anyway: first of all, the Lich isn't dead."

"WHAT?" Riven yelled. "But Musa and Galatea blew him to pieces! There was nothing left of him!"

"Actually, there was," Maitlin said with a sour expression. "A small shard of his being survived, a small essence of his spirit enough to allow him to reincarnate in a new body."

"This is too much... and how can we kill him for good?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"Well, you're not being much help," the maroon haired specialist scoffed.

"Listen, I can see many things the living can't, but my foresight is limited. I know that the lich isn't dead, but I can't see how did he managed to survive."

"So we're on our own," Riven concluded.

"I'm afraid so."

"Any more pieces of vague advice you may give me?"

"Riven, you should take this seriously," Maitlin said, frowning. "Bloom's world, Domino, is in danger. The Man in Black has set his sights on it. Well, better said, he wants _something_ from that world."

"What can you tell me about him?" Riven asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"About him personally, not much. His spirit is surrounded by a tight shroud of darkness that's nearly impossible to pierce."

"Great, that was really helpful," Riven said sarcastically.

"But that doesn't mean that I can't help you to defeat him," Maitlin continued, smiling again. "Listen, you and your Red Fountain friends are really good fighters, but soon you won't be able to help Musa and the others with merely your swords and brute force."

"And what do you expect me to do?"

"There are ways, Riven. There are _always _ways. Fairies and witches seek a way to increase their magic power when they want to become stronger, because magic is their weapon. Maybe you should do the same."

"To get new weapons?"

"Jackpot."

"Phantoblades are the latest state-of-the-art technology in weapons. The only weapons better than phantoblades are those made in-" Riven then silenced, as if a bright idea came to his mind. Maitlin's smile grew wider.

"Come on, finish what you were going to say."

"...the Forge of Wonders."

"And I'm sure that King Oritel would be more than willing to... upgrade your equipment."

For first time since he met her girlfriend's dead mother, Riven smiled. Maybe her advice wasn't useless after all.

…

The sun shone over the world of Melody, blessing it with a beautiful morning. Princess Galatea was on one of the palace's balconies, admiring her kingdom, the kingdom she just saved.

"They told me you were here."

Galatea turned back, and saw Mirta smiling at her. "So, how are you?"

"Better than yesterday, I guess," the princess of Melody said, relieved. "Now that the undead are gone. I was afraid that the Eraklyon tragedy would repeat again."

"Oh, not on my watch!" the redhead said, and the both shared a laugh.

"Guess that I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you and the Winx did," Galatea said.

"Oh, don't say that! We were helping a friend in need," said Mirta, dismissing Galatea's exaggerated humility with her hand. "Besides, you also contributed. You destroyed that skeleton for good!"

"Yes," Galatea smiled. "Now I feel much stronger than before. And I don't mean just because of the Enchantix, which I'm immensely happy to finally achieve, but... well, there was a danger that threatened Melody, I faced it, and came out victorious. After that, I feel like I could do anything now!"

"I'm really happy for you, Gally," said Mirta. "Wait until you get back to Alfea and show everybody your Enchantix! Everybody will be jealous of you!"

"You reminded me of when Musa got her Enchantix- by saving me by the way-, and you have no idea of how badly I wanted to be an Enchantix fairy too. And when my wish came true... the feeling was a hundred times better than what I could even imagine..."

"Let me guess: your senses enhanced, your brain was loaded with new spells, your new wings allowed you to fly with almost no effort and you felt connected to your surroundings like never before?"

"I forgot you got your Enchantix before me," Galatea said. "But not only that, I felt like I was part of Melody in the most literal sense. When Musa told me to think about my fondest memories of Melody, I didn't understand and-"

"It's something we learned recently. A fairy has a bond with the world she's born on, and said bond can be used in many ways, such as harnessing the planet's power. The Enchantix also strengthens the bond as well," Mirta explained. "And since Musa and you were on your native planet, that bond was even stronger."

"I don't think they teach that at Alfea," Galatea said in awe.

"There are many things that they don't teach at Alfea. Even though I'm a fairy now, I still value all the things I learned during my year at Cloud Tower."

"You know Mirta... you've changed a lot in so little time..." Galatea began, which made Mirta raise an eyebrow. "Not in a bad way! I mean you look... much stronger, and wiser, and... it's from hanging out with the Winx?"

"In a way, yes.," the half fairy replied. "I've learned a lot from all of them, I've visited many worlds and fought dangers like we just did yesterday. That made me grow. As a person, not in size."

"Well, I'd like to grow in size too," Galatea joked.

"Yeah, me too! Especially since I'm around the Winx. They're so tall I feel like a little kid around them!"

Both girls shared a final laugh before they left the balcony.

…

Not far from there was Nabu, walking through the beautiful gardens of the Melodian Royal Palace. He wanted to be alone for awhile, to have some time to think. True to his word, the vision of his beloved girlfriend dying by the blade of Kharel appeared in a nightmare. It could be a bluff but... Unlike the others, Nabu had studied (if albeit not much) about the liches and their powers, and it was something quite frightening. He didn't know if the lich was able to predict the future, but he wasn't going to dismiss the possibility.

"Nabu?" Aisha's voice called from behind him.

"Oh, hi," the wizard said, trying to mask his worry.

"Nabu, is everything okay? You've been awfully distant lately," the ebony skinned girl said.

"It's nothing, really," he assured her, but even he was not convinced by his fake optimistic tone.

"Then why are you so worried about nothing? Come on, you can trust me."

Nabu sighed. "Listen, remember yesterday when we were fighting Gaul, that I fainted?"

"What about that?" Aisha inquired.

"Well, Gaul invaded my mind, and showed me... a vision from the future," he decided to skip the details and go for the important part. "You died, Aisha. That red armored guy killed you."

Nabu looked at his girlfriend's blue eyes, expecting to see fear or at least a hint of worry, but he saw nothing of that. She just raised an eyebrow.

"_That's_ why you were so worried? That I'm going to die because that skeleton showed you an image that may be fake?" asked Aisha, placing her hands on her hips.

"I already thought that he only did that just to mess with my mind-"

"And he pretty much succeeded," Aisha interrupted, and rolled her eyes.

"...but it would be dangerous to dismiss it as a shallow threat. Liches have many powers, and foresight is one of them."

"Well, if that Lich can see the future, then he should have prevented his own demise at the hands of Musa and Galatea, right?" asked Aisha, smiling.

Nabu smiled back at her. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Boy, that's why Nabu loved that woman to death. He had expected her to share his fear and concern, but not only remained calm and unfazed, but she was also able to relieve the wizard from his fears. No, a mere prediction wouldn't be enough to strike fear in Aisha's heart.

"Still, I want you to be extra careful in the future, okay?" Nabu insisted.

"Stop worrying so much, okay? I can take care of myself, and I've faced worse threats than that iron clad mongrel," Aisha said proudly, and decided it was about time to change the topic. "Listen, I found a pond on the castle's outskirts. Maybe you'll like to take a bath with me, what do you say?"

"Do you really need to ask?" said Nabu with a genuine grin.

…

Like Mirta and Galatea, Tecna was also in one of the castle's balconies, but she was alone. She wanted to be alone for some time. She pulled her badge, and pressed it. The hologram of the Master Craftsman appeared before her.

"Hello again, Tecna," the Craftsman said. "I'm glad to see you. Have you thought something to ask me already?"

"Exactly. But first I must know which subjects you were, or are, knowledgeable about."

"I studied many fields. My favorites were engineering, electronics and mechanics, but I also possess a great knowledge of light and dark magic, potions, biology and geography."

"I'm certainly impressed," Tecna said. "What do you know about dark magic?"

"Can you be a little more specific? Dark magic covers a lot of fields."

"...necromancy?" Tecna felt a bit ashamed for asking about such a thing.

"Oh my, I never thought that such a young and intelligent lady like you are would dare to investigate such a school of magic."

"I'm not interested in learning necromancy," Tecna couldn't resist the need of justifying her question. "It just so happens that we've met people who do use such arts."

"Alright. Sorry if I made you feel uneasy," the hologram apologized. "And sadly, I don't know too much of necromancy. It's something that people who practice it don't want to share, and those who don't, don't want to know about."

"That seems logical," Tecna agreed. "Okay, then I'll ask you about the Forge."

"Ah, yes, my masterpiece!" said the Craftsman in delight. "I was glad that it was found by good people like you. What do you want to know?"

"The process of imbuing an item with magic permanently. How does it work?"

"It took me years of researching to develop that, but it's easier than you think. If you are asking, then I assume that in all these centuries nobody was able to create magic items the way I did, right?" Tecna nodded affirmatively. "Well, it's easier than I expected. First of all, I assume that you know what a magic nexus is, right?"

"Yes. It is a location where the magic is unusually strong, right?"

"I couldn't sum it up better. You see, the nexus usually forms when a group of magic practitioners live in the same place for a very long time. And by 'long time' I mean entire generations, not just a couple of decades. Magic schools are usually a nexus, if they aren't built over one already."

Tecna remembered Gaul's words: the catacombs he occupied were used as tombs by a coven of dark wizards, and the remaining energy of the corpses impregnated the place with darkness. She'd been in a magic nexus not long ago.

"Well, I started researching such places. How they were formed, and most importantly, the effect they have on both living beings and inanimate items."

"And what were the results?"

"I had the theory that, since long-term exposure to magic energy could impregnate a certain place, it would have a similar effect on people and items. A magic user that would visit a magic nexus would see their powers dramatically increased – or diminished, depending on their alignment. But my research focused primarily on the former. And thus, the way to imbue an item with magic permanently, such item had to be exposed to a strong source of magic energy for a long period of time."

"It makes sense. But the forge can create magic artifacts in mere hours, right?" Tecna asked.

"Yes. Of course, I couldn't wait for centuries to create a magic item, so I had to find a way to accelerate the process. And the solution was to create a pocket dimension in which time flows faster than normal."

"That's amazing!" said Tecna in awe. "I didn't think that such technology was even possible."

"Only for closed minded people, my dear," the Craftsman said. "Things will be impossible if you think they are. If you can't figure out something, just try a different approach."

Tecna remembered that, when she was in middle school, she felt that all of her classmates were idiots. Some of them would ask the teacher to repeat the lesson when she always understand everything the first time she heard it. Some of them would take hours to solve a problem, while she only needed less than a minute to do so. When exams were near, they all talked about how they spent all night studying, while Tecna only needed to read a book once to memorize its content. She expected Alfea to be more of a challenge to her prodigious mind.

And now, Tecna was at the other end of the spectrum. She did understand everything the Craftsman was saying, but she couldn't figure out, not even with magic, how to create a dimension in which time flows at a different pace. Hell, she couldn't even figure out how to create another dimension, period.

"Do you have any more questions?" the hologram asked, upon seeing that Tecna was silent.

"Uh, yes!" Tecna stammered. "Do you keep track of all the creations of the Forge?"

"Yes. Whenever the Forge was used, data of the item created would be transferred to my memory. Any item in particular?"

"Yes. The Eye of Oblivion."

"The Eye of Oblivion was a pocket sized, octagonal jewel made of a rare gemstone called thalonite, which was embedded with a strong negative energy related to the Shadow Fire and the Void, called the Black Sun Fire. It was designed as a part of a set of other items, which include a full body armor, a cloak, and a mask."

Tecna had no doubt of which were the items the Craftsman just mentioned.

"What is the extent of its power?" the pink haired girl asked.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, sorry. But if we go for what we know about the Shadow Fire, it can consume both energy of any kind and physical matter."

"There's a way to counter that power?"

"Yes. Another item, called The Spark of the Stars, was created with the purpose of fighting the force of the Eye."

Tecna was now excited. "Great! Where it is? Is it with the Forge?"

"No, it isn't. It's current location, or if it still exists, it's unknown to me."

Tecna's excitement vanished.

"Do you want to ask any more questions?"

"No, I don't think so, at least for now. But we will talk again."

"Alright. I'll be waiting for you."

…

At midday, the monarchs of Melody hosted a special banquet in honor of their daughter and the Winx Club in appreciation for all what they did for the planet. They received a special decoration as a sign of gratitude and recognition.

"Your heroic deeds will be forever remembered, brave boys and girls, for preventing a catastrophe akin to what happened to Domino in the past or on Erakyon recently," the King of Melody said. Galatea's father was a tall and slender man with white skin, short black hair and a goatee. He wore a blue shirt and trousers under a long, red robe, decorated with bells.

"But let's not dwell on disgraces," the Queen said, feeling that her husband shouldn't have mentioned such events. Galatea's mother looked like an older version of her daughter, only that she had her hair in an elegant bun, and wore a white and golden silk robe. "Today, not only is our beautiful world free from the undead menace, but our daughter became a stronger person as a result, in every sense of the word."

"It was nothing, really," said Musa. "At least, nothing we don't do on a regular basis."

Some snickered at Musa's quip. Black Lotus stepped forward, and spoke for first time.

"I want to thank you personally for your assistance as well. But now that the peril is gone for the moment, Princess Galatea must return to Alfea and resume her studies," Black Lotus said in his usual stoic tone.

"I guess he's right. The classes and books awaits my return." Galatea said with a shrug. "By the way, if you ever need something, just tell me okay?"

"Don't worry about us, we will be fine," said Bloom. "But we will bear your offer in mind."

They all accompanied Galatea to the castle's hangar (where the _Prometheus_ was as well) and watched the princess of Melody board a small shuttle, followed by her inseparable bodyguard, and flew away. The Winx Club boarded their large ship and left Melody as well, heading back to Lumyon.

After some hours, Bloom and Sky gathered everybody on the bridge in order to discuss what to do next.

"I think that everyone will agree with me when I say that retaking Eraklyon should be our main priority," Sky said. As expected, nobody opposed this.

"So, what do you suggest? To go to Eraklyon and storm the Royal Palace?" asked Brandon. "Listen, I want to free Eraklyon as much as you do, bro, but we can't act carelessly. The last time we did, Stella lost her memories. The next time, one of us may lose their life."

Sky thought of the possibility. Yes, the Man in Black could have killed Stella if he wanted to, but he hadn't. He still wondered why he spared her life, and if he would do it again. No, they couldn't take that chance again.

"Guys, I want to go to Eraklyon and kick that masked freak's butt, but right now I don't know if we can defeat him. Arthaia trained us, but I'm not sure if her training was enough," Aisha commented.

"I think it was. We defeated that skeleton and his 'Banshee' under a huge handicap, didn't we?" Musa asked.

"Sometimes I wonder if we could be of more help," sighed Helia. "Since brute force alone won't help, at least in the long run."

"Well, we can," Riven said. Everybody stared at him.

"What do you mean?" Timmy asked.

"You see, when the girls want to be stronger, they seek to increase their magic power, that is their weapon, and thus, we should do the same thing with ours."

"Are you suggesting... we need to get new weapons?" asked Brandon.

"Yes. It's obvious that these we have don't work against the enemies the Winx have to deal with. Anybody remember when Valtor easily defeated us near the end of our last year at Red Fountain?" Riven asked.

"Well, what do you suggest to use as a replacement for the phantoblades?" Sky asked, arms crossed.

"Easy. There's a workshop for magic weapons on your girlfriend's homeworld."

"Do you think that's a good idea? It may be dangerous," Bloom said, unconvinced.

"Hey, why not? If our enemies use weapons from the forge, maybe it's about time we even up the fight," Brandon said, who was pleased by the idea.

"Guys, it's not that easy," Musa intervened. "We are just fourteen people, and that guy in black has an army under his control. New weapons won't solve anything."

"Then why don't we get an army too?" asked Stella.

"Stella hon, an army isn't something you can find in a mall," said Aisha in a slightly condescending tone.

"But you told me that half of us are princesses! Couldn't we just ask for our countries to help Eraklyon? How about you, Bloom?" asked Stella.

"Yes, Stella's right! We played a major part in Domino's restoration! The owe us one!" said Riven.

"I think I, or better said, Lumyon, can help too," Marco said. "My mother is the Guardian Fairy, and my grandfather is the head of the army."

"Alright then. We'll go to Domino, renew our equipment and prepare for the reconquest of Eraklyon. Anybody oppose this?" Sky asked, and, as expected, nobody did.

* * *

**Author's note: you know, I liked this chapter even if nothing really exciting happened. My favorite parts were the conversations between Riven and Maitlin, and Tecna and the Crafstman**. **I like people having some sort of spiritual advisor that help them through a journey. Guess that I got that from Star Wars, such as many other things from this story. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to review!**


	27. Domino, Here We Come

**Author's note: hello, dear readers. It's been a while since I updated, hasn't it? Well, I'm sorry I couldn't update any faster, but real life always takes priority. Anyway, this is the beginning of the Domino arc. The chapter isn't devoted to action, but character development instead, and some romance as well! Well, enjoy.  
**

**Chapter 27: Domino, here we come**

With the exception of Bloom, nobody had returned to Domino after their fight against Mandragora and the Ancestral Witches, while two of them (Mirta and Marco) had never been there in the first place. However, regarding that, pretty much everybody was happy to visit Bloom's magnificent homeland.

After landing in the hangar, a small group of royal guards led the Winx Club into the Royal Castle. The guards would lead them to one of the meeting halls, where the monarchs of Domino would be awaiting them, since Bloom arranged a meeting before they landed.

Everybody noticed that the palace was heavily guarded, with pairs of guards stationed at every door, and small groups patrolling the halls. All of them would salute Bloom and bow before her, even though Bloom constantly told them that such exaggerated manners were unnecessary. After a really long trip through halls and stairs, they finally reached the meeting room. The guards opened the doors, revealing King Oritel, Queen Mariam and Hagen the Blacksmith inside.

"Your Majesties, your daughter and her friends are here," one of the guards announced loudly.

"Thank you lieutenant. You can go now. Leave us alone, and make sure that we aren't disturbed unless there is an emergency," Oritel told the guard.

"Yes, sir!" the guard bowed before his king, and left the room, closing the doors from the outside.

Everybody was quiet for some moments, until Bloom finally walked towards her biological parents.

"Bloom, sweetheart, we're so happy to see you," Mariam said, and hugged her daughter. Bloom hugged back.

"Me too, mother," Bloom said.

Bloom wanted to differentiate between her biological parents and her adoptive ones, and since she refused to call any of them by their names, she decided to keep calling Mike and Vanessa 'Dad' and 'Mom' (since she called them that all her life) and addressing her biological parents in a more formal way.

"When we saw the fall of Eraklyon on the news, we couldn't help but worry about you, dear," Oritel said. "It's a huge relief to see you here, safe and sound." He then turned to the rest of the group, but his gaze rested on Bloom's fiance, "And before you say anything, yes, we're preparing our forces to invade Eraklyon. However, we cannot rush things. If we don't plan this carefully, it will result in the loss of thousand of lives."

"The most important thing for the moment is to gather information about the enemy," Hagen spoke up. "You have already had some run-ins with that guy, to put it mildly. What do you know about him?"

"Nothing. In fact, since you fought against him during the war with the Ancestral Witches, we thought that you would know something about him," Sky said.

"This is our main problem: how can we fight against an enemy we know nothing about?" Tecna asked.

"You guys shouldn't be so defeatist just because we had some setbacks," Musa said, unaware of the huge understatement 'setback' was in that situation. "Remember the Trix? Darkar? Valtor? All of them were unstoppable enemies the first time we fought them, but we kept fighting and won in the end. Hell, nobody here had a clue about the Trix, yet that didn't stop us from kicking their butts, especially during our third year at Alfea."

"It's not the same, Musa. We didn't know about the Trix's past, or Darkar's, or Valtor's for that matter," Tecna answered. "But we did know their goals. The Trix wanted Bloom's Dragon Fire. Darkar wanted the Codex. Valtor wanted the magic essences of as many worlds as possible. That helped us to defeat them. But we don't know the goal of this masked man and his followers."

"Not to mention," Timmy continued. "That we knew the source of their power, so we could plan a proper strategy, like when we looked for the Water Stars in order to fight Valtor. I'm with Tecna, if we don't plan our next step carefully, things can get even uglier."

"Well, maybe we can tell them what kind of things we've fought so far. You know, like all the monsters we saw on Melody," Brandon mused, not sure if it was a good idea.

"I don't think it will be enough, but it's a start," Oritel said.

"Meanwhile, I'll send a squad from the Spy Corps to Eraklyon. Hopefully they can gather some useful information," Marian said.

"Father," Bloom said. "Even if our goal is to free Eraklyon, we have to beat that masked guy in person at some point. So can you-"

"Wait, are you planning on fighting that monster directly?" Oritel said incredulous. "But, you can't do that!"

"I already did," Bloom said, much to her parent's shock.

"Don't worry, she wasn't alone. We were there too, covering her," Flora said with a genuine smile, as he placed her hands on Bloom's shoulders.

"Yeah, we don't allow anybody going off on their own," Mirta added as well.

"And... how was it?" asked Mariam, still unsure.

"To put it simply, he wiped the floor with us," Aisha said, a bit ashamed. She decided to omit that Stella got her memories wiped, since that would set Oritel and Mariam into 'overprotective parents' mode and would have kept Bloom (and maybe everybody as well) out of the action. "That's why we looked to become stronger, so it won't happen again."

"Anyway, what can you tell us about him?" asked Sky.

"Not much," Oritel crossed his arms and sighed. "Our swords crossed on many occasions, but aside from being an excellent swordsman, he was also a terrific sorcerer. I must admit, Valtor did a good job training him."

"Hey, you guys said that he was imprisoned in... the Omega Dimension you called it, right?" Stella asked. "Then that means that you defeated him once! You only have to tell us how!" Stella beamed upon realizing that she had a good idea.

"It's not that easy, hon," Mariam replied. "If you've seen him, you know there's a gemstone in the middle of his chest plate, right? Well, that gem is strongly linked to the source of his power. If you can take that gem away from him, he'll be vulnerable."

"Then that will be our strategy," Aisha declared.

"As I said before, it's not that easy. That gem is an artifact from the Forge. It emits a very strong negative radiation that is able to nullify the magic abilities of even of the most powerful fairy, or even kill them. If you get too close to him, he'll know that you're going after his gem."

Memories of their raid at the Forge came to their minds, and remembered how Mirage used that gemstone to weaken them to such a point that they couldn't even stand up, and worst of all, it turned the usually sweet and friendly Mirta into a mindless monster.

"Then how did you take that gem away from him?" Helia asked.

"Mariam and I fought him for two days straight," Oritel said. Upon saying this, everybody stared at them with their eyes wide. "Until he was so exhausted he couldn't fight anymore."

"But don't try it," Mariam added. "When we did this, he was alone, and it's doubtful that he'll make the same mistake twice."

Discouragement spread among the Winx Club. There wasn't going to be an easy way to take down that masked man.

"Listen, don't think about that yet. I think that this is a good moment to visit the capital of Domino and travel around. It will help you to relax and to stay fresh when action comes," Mariam suggested.

"By the way, can the boys take some weapons from the Forge? We thought that, if we improve their equipment, we'll have better chances of winning," Bloom asked.

"Of course. Hagen, lead the boys to the Forge and give them any weapon they want."

…

After the meeting finished, Bloom went to the Palace's back garden, where the Royal Family's pantheon was. But she didn't enter the pantheon, she instead went to a small fenced patch of grass with a lonely tomb on it.

_Here lies Daphne, Princess of Domino, firstborn child of Oritel and Mariam, who heroically sacrificed her life to save her loved ones._

"Hello, Daphne,"Bloom said, almost expecting Daphne to appear behind her like many other times before, but nothing happened. "It's me, Bloom. I came here to... I wanted to say that... well, you've been helping me since I was little, and... and I've never even thanked you properly. Hope you can hear me now... so, well, thank you. For everything."

Bloom rubbed her arms, and continued.

"Sometimes I think of what you did, and if I could do the same. It was your love for me that saved me, and... I wonder if, when the moment came, would I do whatever it took to protect those I love, even if it cost my life. Can you see Domino, in all its splendor, like you remember it? I'm sure you can. Well, I did this, but I'm sure you know that as well. What I wanted you to know is that I did this for you. From the moment I knew what you did, I fought so that your sacrifice would not be for nothing.

"But now... all I fought for... what we all fought for... it's on the verge of crumbling. I don't know what to do, Daphne. Your little sister needs you and..." Bloom paused for a moment, and thought of what she was saying. "Oh, look at me. Whining and asking what to do, such suitable behavior for the future Queen of this planet. Not. What would you think if you saw me like this..."

"She'd think that you've become a strong and brave young woman that has done everything in her power to honor her memory," somebody said behind her.

Bloom gasped and quickly turned around to see an enchantix fairy. "Flora!"

"Sorry, I didn't intend to spy on you, especially in such a place, but the plants told me that you were really sad. Do you want to talk?" The fairy of nature asked while she returned to her civilian form.

"I miss her. It's simple as that. Yet I never got to meet her when she was alive. Weird, huh?"

"Of course not," Flora replied, shaking her head. "Even beyond death, Daphne did all she could to give you the life she never had, and the chance to see your homeworld and your biological family again, and deep inside, you know it. It's entirely possible to love somebody you've never met. And yes, it's weird, but trust me; there are lots of people who feel just like you."

"Remember when I was a rookie fairy who wasn't even able to transform and was beaten by the Trix on a daily basis? She was there to guide me. And now... I need her now more than ever, yet I don't know where I could find her."

"Bloom, you shouldn't depend on those who passed away for relief," Flora said solemnly. Then, as she came close to the redhead, she smiled and added: "That's what the living are for!"

Bloom smiled too.

"You should follow your dad's advice. You spent almost three years trying to save your homeworld, yet you barely know it. Come on, let's find the rest of the group and travel around a bit!"

Bloom looked at the tomb one last time, and muttered a "Thank you, I love you" to her deceased older sister. And thus Bloom and Flora left Daphne's tomb, and headed to the capital.

Unbeknownst to her, Daphne didn't hear her little sister because she was trapped in a place of horror and nightmares where the voices of her loved ones couldn't be heard.

…

All the boys except Nabu were in the Vault of Treasures, rummaging through the piles of items and boxes, looking for new weapons, while Hagen watched. The elder blacksmith told them that they'd have today to choose one weapon (and only one), since King Oritel had ordered all the magical items and artifacts to be gathered and stored in special warehouses the next day.

"Hey Sky, check this!" said Brandon, holding up a sledgehammer. "Is this cool, or what?"

"Just like at Red Fountain, you always have to go for the biggest weapon you see, don't you?" Riven said mockingly. "Bigger doesn't always mean better."

"Well," Brandon said, putting the sledgehammer down and leaning against Riven, "Stella thinks otherwise, and from what she told me, so does Musa," the brown haired specialist said with a mischievous smirk. He gave his friend a nudge.

Except Riven, everybody laughed at Brandon's quip.

"He's got you there, Riven," Helia said jokingly, placing a hand on Riven's shoulder.

"Oh, shut up!" Riven said angrily, pushing Helia away. Helia simply shrugged and kept rummaging.

"If the young squire here feels that he can handle a big weapon, then we should let him," Hagen said, walking towards Brandon. He held out his hand to him, and Brandon gave him the hammer. "You can tell a lot about a man simply by knowing what kind of weapons he likes."

"And what can you tell about me?" Brandon said in a challenging tone.

"You chose a big and blunt weapon. This means that your fighting style is aggressive but slow. It's evidence of somebody who takes a direct approach to life. People who choose this kind of weapon seek to end a fight in a short time, mostly due to its devastating power, but wielding such a heavy weapon can easily tire you out and doesn't provide a good defense. But if used correctly," Hagen slammed the hammer on the floor, releasing sparks of electricity, creating a shockwave and making the whole Forge shake violently. "...it can be deadly."

"Wow..."

"This is the Thundergod, a hammer imbued with the magic of lightning. It's a very powerful weapon that can only be used by a strong fighter. However, it's easy to hurt allies with it, so be careful," Hagen handed the hammer back to Brandon.

"Don't worry, I will."

"What about you, gentlemen? Have you found anything yet?" the old blacksmith asked.

"Well, swords and maces are fine, but my style of combat is different," Helia spoke up. "Do you have something for ranged combat?"

"Ranged combat? Did you look for a bow or crossbow?" Hagen asked, but before Helia could answer, he started looking inside one of the crates. "Don't worry, I know exactly what do you want. You're the kind of man who seeks harmony and peace and wants to avoid confrontation at all costs. That's why you like to fight from afar, and let others to do the close and dirty work. What do you think of this?"

Hagen handed Helia what it looked to be a short sword with a long handle.

"You said that you were going to give me a ranged weapon," Helia said, scratching the back of his head. "That's hardly ranged."

"You think so? Appearances can be deceptive. Like a fairy who looks beautiful and fragile can be a deadly force of nature, this sword can reach enemies from afar," and to prove his point, Hagen swung the sword forwards towards an empty point, and the blade separated from the handle, revealing that the parts where linked by a thin chain. Hagen then swung it backwards, and the blade retracted and attached again to the handle. "This is the Serpent Blade. The chain, though thin, is hard as diamond, and won't break. So, what do you think?"

"I think that I found my weapon," Helia said, smiling, and took the Serpent Blade from Hagen's hands.

"You know, I think that I'm starting to understand how Stella feels whenever she goes shopping," Timmy said, looking at the many artifacts with great interest. He pulled out a pair of guns and tried to strike a bad-ass pose. He then spun both guns around his fingers before grabbing them again. "Man, I've never seen such a fine pair of pistols."

"Another ranged fighter who also shy away from direct combat," Hagen said, but upon seeing Timmy's crestfallen expression, he added: "But don't worry, there's no dishonor in staying away from the front line. People who chooses that kind of weapons carefully think every step of a fight, that's why they don't rush into action, so they can concentrate better."

Timmy smiled shyly. Nobody in Red Fountain praised him for preferring long ranged weapons over swords or spears. While Timmy and Hagen talked, a pair of curvy swords caught Riven's attention. They were so light it felt as if they were made of paper. He slashed the air twice, and the swords produced a soft metallic sound. Riven looked at them, and smiled.

"The Tiger Fangs. Light as a feather, and can cut through almost everything," Hagen explained before the maroon haired specialist could ask about them.. Hagen then glanced at Sky and Marco, who were still looking for a weapon they could like or fit their fighting style."Okay, there are only two indecisive men left. Let me make some suggestions."

Hagen moved around, carefully looking at the piles of items as somebody who looks for certain something in a messy basement. He found what he was looking for, and pulled a long and well crafted sword out of a pile of weapons.

"Every king needs a weapon that fits his station, and this sword fits you like a glove," the old Blacksmith said, handing the sword to Sky. "This is the Lionheart, one of the finest swords I've ever made. Not only is it very light and sharp, which is good for combat, but it has been made in such a way that it can cut the very fabric of magic."

Sky took the sword and looked at it carefully. The handle was beautifully shaped like the head of a lion roaring and the blade was long and and even. Hagen's words seemed true, since he could barely feel the sword's weight.

"And lastly," Hagen said, glancing at Marco, who had been silent since they arrived. "A sword for the young paladin in training."

This time, he took less time to find what he was looking for.

"The Crusader," Hagen said, lifting the sword over his head. The Crusader had a less elaborate design than Sky's new sword, but the blade was wider and the handle was longer, perfect for Marco's fighting style. "The blade is made of a special steel that acts as a conductor of magic. Paladins cast spells through their weapons, and with this sword yours will be easier and faster to complete."

"I'm quite impressed," Marco said, taking a closer look at the sword, especially at its gleaming blade. "Thanks for your generosity, Master Hagen."

"There's no need for that," Hagen said, dismissing the paladin's gratitude. "Weapons were made to be used by warriors like you, not to be stored and accumulate dust."

...

Meanwhile on Eraklyon the Man in Black, followed by Kharel, was heading to the basement of the Royal Palace. After a long walk, they finally arrived at a reinforced metal door with a huge crank on it. Together, they opened the big and heavy door, and the masked man cast a spell to illuminate the inside chamber.

Beyond the door were mountains of riches, such as gold coins, gorgeous jewels, beautiful and rare gemstones and other valuable treasures.

"Look at this, Kharel," said the Man in Black in delight. "Have your eyes ever seen such a vast amount of wealth before? I know they haven't. Neither have mine."

"Um, that's fine, we have to pay those criminals we took from Omega if we want them to work for us," said Kharel, scratching the back of his head. "But I thought that money and riches were beneath us."

"Oh, and they are," the Man in Black replied. "But this display of royal opulence is going to be very useful in our war against fairies and the Winx in particular."

"...I don't think I follow."

"The story is repeating itself again. Many years ago, the Ancestral Witches waged war against the kingdom of Domino for the power of the Dragon Fire. The Coven vastly outnumbered the forces of Domino, but in the end they did the unthinkable and defeated the Ancestresses. And do you know why?" The Man in Black asked, but continued before Kharel could answer. "Because they didn't fight alone. They formed alliances with many other nations Even if the Coven didn't threaten any other planet, they still opposed them, fearing that their worlds and people would be next. And after what happened here on Eraklyon, the Winx will look for allies."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Don't be such a fool. The fact that they haven't yet tried to retake Eraklyon is proof that they feel overwhelmed by our power. Some of those girls are princesses, so it wouldn't be hard for them to convince their families to lend them their armies. Soon, we will have the armies of many kingdoms trying to drive us away from this world."

Kharel looked preoccupied. "And... what are we going to do? You have a plan, don't you?"

"Of course I have. Master Valtor taught me the importance of planning ahead."

"Let me guess, your plan involves using the Eraklyon royal treasure, right?" the knight asked. "Sorry, but I don't see how this is going to help. "

"The power of greed can be more harmful and destructive than any spell the Ancestresses could conceive of, if one knows how to use it."

…

Some hours later, at dusk, the Winx Club and the specialists were visiting the Capital of Domino for first time (strange as it sounds, Bloom included). It looked quite a lot like Magix, but it was much more impressive and splendorous. Most buildings were made of beautiful white marble with red roofs, and decorated with dragon motifs. There was no sidewalk, just grass, and trees and flowers grew on it while still leaving enough space for people to walk, like nature had meshed with the city. There weren't any lampposts, just blue glowing crystals floating above the streets. The biggest buildings were decorated with the flag of Domino, a golden dragon with its wings spread over a red background.

After asking a patrolling guard for directions, the group arrived at the city's trade district, where most stores were. Immediately most of the girls scattered, each seeing something of interest.

"Hey, this music store has a much wider assortment of CDs than any of the stores in Magix!" Musa said in excitement.

"And this flower shop has some plants I've never seen before in my whole life!" said Flora, while looking carefully at the flowers exposed in the entry of the store. "And look, all natural perfumes!"

"Ohmygod, look those dresses!" said Stella, literally sticking her face to a shop window. But she suddenly saw another clothing store nearby, and another and another. Marveling, Stella said: "I think I will be living here from now on!"

"I was wondering when Stella would enter her 'hyper-compulsive shopper' mode," Aisha chuckled, shaking her head.

"Well, Stella's crazy about dresses," said Mirta with a shrug. "And she can get a bit hyper..."

"Yeah, I don't know why she always gets so excited when shopping," Tecna said, rolling her eyes. "At least you girls don't go like-"

But Tecna suddenly realized that neither Mirta nor Aisha was there anymore. She found them looking in the shop window of a shoe store, drooling like idiots. Aisha was looking at a pair of splendid sneakers, while Mirta was looking at a pair of gleaming black Gothic boots. The fairy of technology just shook her head in disgust.

"Hey Tecna," Timmy said behind her. "Do you want to check out some of the latest video games?" Timmy asked while pointing to an electronics store. "They have some games that haven't been officially released yet."

Tecna looked like she was going to have a heart attack, but then relaxed and calmly said: "Of course, I'd love to."

…

As the night grew darker, the Winx and specialists began to scatter as couples, wanting some time alone after some hours of venting steam through compulsive shopping.

Wandering without any direction, Mirta and Marco had left the city, and were now in the middle of a beautiful glade. Mirta was carrying two shopping bags, while Marco was empty-handed.

"This has been one of the best days in my life," the redhead gushed, looking at the bags she was carrying. She then looked at the paladin. "I can't believe that you didn't buy anything! You're going to leave Domino without taking anything from it."

"Well, I'm not much into shopping just for kicks," Marco said with a shrug. "Besides, I did get something from the Forge."

"Really? What is it? Can I see it?"

The paladin unsheathed his new sword for Mirta to see. It made a soft metallic sound, and the blade glimmered with a soft blue light.

"Wow...it's really pretty," said Mirta, coming closer. "And it gives off a really nice sensation, like the first light of the sun at the morning."

"I know. Boy, I can't wait to use it for the first time!"

Mirta smiled. The she dropped the bags, and rubbed her arms. She knew the day was starting to take its toll when a sore feeling spread across her body.

"I've never felt so tired," she said, and sighed. Then her face lit up, and she said: "Hey, wanna lie on the grass and look at the stars? It's a beautiful night!" She lay down by her bags.

"Sure!" the paladin said as he lay down next to her.

They remained silent for several minutes, looking at the night sky, but sometimes glancing at each other. When the other would notice this, they looked at the sky again, blushing.

"When I was little, my mother used to tell me that the stars were the souls of the dead, who were there so they could watch over their loved ones," Marco began. "And that one of them was my father."

"Do you... do you miss him?" asked Mirta.

"I don't think I can't answer that," Marco said. "On the one hand, he died when I was little, but on the other hand my mother told me a lot about him, so... it's almost like I never knew him, but at the same time I did. I think I'm not making any sense..."

"No, no, I know how you feel. Well, sorta," Mirta said. "Your mother kept talking to you about him so his memory would always be alive within you, and you could feel like he was always there, even if he wasn't."

"Wow, that was really deep," Marco said, impressed.

"To be honest, I read that in a book," Mirta admitted, and chuckled. "The ancients used to believe that, when somebody died, his spirit would remain in this world until he found a new body, and that by always keeping them in their mind, like making shrines in their memory and such, the spirits would remain near them, and when time came for their reincarnation, they would see them again."

"Sounds interesting," said Marco. "And do you think it's true?"

"I don't know if there are people who still carry the ancients' beliefs but..." Mirta paused, and looked the paladin in the face. "...I think it's possible."

"What else did that book say about the ancients?" asked Marco.

"Well, they also believed that when you loved somebody, a piece of his or her soul would go inside your being. That's why, when a loved one passed away, we felt so much pain; because we were also losing that shard of soul which was within us for so long."

"The ancients had interesting theories."

They both sighed, and kept looking at each other. Each second, and without them even realizing it, their faces came closer and closer as their minds became number and sleepier. And finally, when they couldn't be any closer, their lips met, forming a small kiss that, little by little, turned into a passionate one.

…

Meanwhile, in the Eraklyon Royal Palace, the Man in Black had summoned Kharel, Neyra and Mirage for some important news.

"The time has come, my dear minions, to claim the Forge of Nightmares," the Man in Black said, joyfully. "In a few days, our forces will move towards Domino and shall crush anybody who dares oppose us!"

"It's great to hear it! I was getting tired of dwelling here doing nothing," said Mirage.

"Yes, I have also missed seeing action. And Bane wants to taste fairy blood again," Kharel said, caressing the blade of his anti-magical sword.

"I'm not so sure about this," said Neyra, rubbing her arm. "I want to kick some fairy butt as much as you do, but... attacking Domino? Do we have enough force to wage war against such a powerful kingdom?"

The Man in Black came closer to Neyra, and her sister and Kharel stepped back in fear. Neyra was also terrified, since she could only think that her master was going to punish her for her lack of faith in his power. However, if it wasn't for his mask, she could have seen him smiling. He placed his hands on the brunette's shoulders, and said:

"Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I appreciate your sincerity and your concern. But let me wash your doubts away. We not only have enough forces to invade Domino, we have enough to make King Oritel and his lackeys to fall to their knees in fear and desperation. We have an army of undead that grows every day, we have all of Eraklyon's fairies following my orders, we have the worst criminals of Omega working for us. Do we need any more? Besides, we conquered Eraklyon with less than half of our current strength."

"Guess you're right," said Neyra, forcing herself to smile. "Yeah, we will go to Domino and wipe the floor with those fairies!"

"Good. I like that attitude, you'll need it in the forthcoming battle," the Man in Black said, finally turning around and walking away from the sorceress. "If you don't have any more questions, you're dismissed."

The knight and two witches bowed to their master before leaving.

"Attacking Domino, now that's setting your sights high!" a voice said from behind him.

"In order to triumph, you have to. My ancestors forgot it, and they paid it for it," the Man in Black said, not even bothering to turn around. "I was wondering how long it would take you to return."

A figure stepped from the shadows in the corner of the room. Said figure was no other than Gaul himself.

"And miss the fun? I wasn't allowed to participate in the first invasion of Domino, and hell will freeze before I miss the second one!" the Lich said.

"Guess that's something we have in common," the Man in Black said. "I was already in Omega when the Ancestresses attacked Domino. Anyway, is it ready yet?"

"Yes, after testing the prototype, I was able to improve it, as well as correcting some flaws. Now it reaches maturity in half the time," Gaul explained. "Do you want to see it?"

"Of course."

Gaul waved his hand, and created a dimensional portal. They walked through and found themselves inside a dark cave. The Man in Black summoned a ball of fire to illuminate the path.

"Follow me, Master."

"So, this is your new secret lair?" asked the Man in Black, looking around.

"It's dark, it's cold, and it's saturated with dark energy. Perfect for me and my creatures. Honestly, I'm ashamed that I didn't think of using this place as a base of operations before, since its former owner... went out of business."

The Lich led his master through a series of corridors until they reached their destination.

"Here it is," Gaul said. "What do you think?"

"Marvelous. Simply marvelous. You never fail to meet my expectations."

Before their eyes were dozens and dozens of Banshee cocoons.

**Author's note: I hope did you enjoy the chapter, and I know which is the part you liked the most. I think that after so many chapters, the Mirta/Marco pairing should get a relationship upgrade. There's also the specialists' new weapons, that you'll see in action in the following invasion of Domino. And of course, don't forget to review! See you next time!**


	28. Steel and Fire

**Chapter 28: Steel and Fire**

Mirta opened her eyes, awakened by the birds singing. She rubbed her eyes as they got used to the light, and slowly she stretched herself. She couldn't help but smile when she remembered her kiss with Marco last night. She hadn't told anybody yet, and couldn't wait to do so. After getting dressed with her usual clothes, she opened the large windows of her room to see the magnificent gardens of the Royal Palace. She also saw that Flora was there, admiring all the flowers and plants.

"So typical of Flora", Mirta chuckled. After seeing Flora, Mirta's desire to tell somebody about her last night's kiss grew even more. She transformed and flew out of the window.

While the fairy of nature was looking at the different flowers of the garden, she heard a voice calling -or better said, yelling- her name from above. It was Mirta. She landed in front of Flora, and returned to her civilian form.

"Hey, Mirta," Flora said cheerfully, but immediately frowned. "Everything's alright? You look really flustered."

"You'll never guess what happened to me last night!" Mirta said, excited like a little kid.

"No, but I'm sure that you're dying to tell me," Flora said, almost laughing, and placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Marco kissed me!" said Mirta, bouncing up and down.

"Really? Flora beamed with joy. "That's great, Mirta! And how was it?"

"Well, I don't remember much..." Mirta said, putting her index finger on her lips. "Marco and I were lying on the grass, looking at the stars and talking and then... it happened."

"I'm so happy for you," Flora said. "But you should calm down. You're the fairy of emotion, remember? Your powers may go into overdrive!" Both she and Mirta laughed.

"You know, I never thought of asking you this before, but now... how was your first kiss with Helia?" Mirta asked.

"Well, it was far less romantic than yours, I'm sure of that," Flora replied while remembering.

"Oh, don't say that," Mirta protested, and frowned.

"It was in Shadowhaunt," said Flora. Mirta was taken aback. Yes, that was indeed, the least romantic place in the universe. Maybe second to the Omega Dimension. "We were going to rescue Bloom, and the specialists were going to hold Darkar's monsters off so we could have a chance. None of us were sure if we were going to make it out alive."

"So he kissed you before facing death. He wanted his last memory to be about you. That's pretty sweet if you ask me," Mirta said.

They walked silently for some moments, until Mirta spoke up again.

"Do you know how long are we going to stay here?" the redhead asked.

Flora shook her head. "No, but I hope that stay here for some time. Domino is a really nice place to stay, and much cozier than Lumyon. Don't tell Marco I said that!" Both girls laughed.

"Speaking of Marco, I think I'm going to look for him," Mirta said, and she and Flora bid themselves goodbye. Of course, Flora knew that she'd want to see Marco again.

…

After much searching and asking, Mirta found her beloved in the least likely place for a paladin to be: in the castle's stables. The stables were the home of many beasts that the army of Domino used. Most of them were reptilian, or, like she found out later, related to dragons (there were dragons as well) of many sizes.

The largest beasts were the monocrons, green large lizards with bulky bodies and short but straight legs, their backs covered with scales hard as steel, and a huge horn on its nose. They looked like a rhino with reptilian features.

Next to them were the aliraptors, svelte green bipedal lizards of almost two meters tall, with short forearms but long hind legs, tails and necks. If one looked at them closely, they'd see that they were like a snake with arms and legs, since its tail and neck weren't attached to the body, but was a continuation of it.

And finally, there were the dragons like those she saw at Red Fountain, used as flying mounts by the highest ranking soldiers and knights. However, this had red skin instead of white, and were also bigger.

Mirta saw that Marco was quietly looked at something. It was a large white egg with green spots.

"Marco?"

"Oh, hi, Mirta! You came here at the right moment! It's about to hatch!" the paladin said enthusiastically.

"Um, yeah, that's fine, but I wanted to talk with you about something else," Mirta said. However, Marco didn't reply. "Um, you know, what happened yesterday? At night? When you and I kissed?"

Marco sighed heavily, as if he was going to do or say something he wasn't going to enjoy. "Did you like it?"

"Of course I did! It was wonderful! Didn't you feel the same?" asked Mirta.

"I felt... weird," Marco said, shaking his head. "Okay, I'll be sincere: I've never felt so confused and scared in my entire life."

"Would it help if I tell you that those are my feelings exactly?" Mirta asked while she batted her eyes playfully.

"Then... what we do know?" the paladin asked.

Mirta pulled Marco closer, and kissed him on the lips again. The paladin was astonished first, but he kissed her back.

"How about going on a date? Just you and me?" asked Mirta. "You know, get to know each other a bit better,"

"I already know a lot about you."

"Really? What is my favorite color?" Mirta asked quickly. Marco began to stammer, but Mirta kept talking. "My favorite meal? My favorite movie? Books? Did I tell you about my first day at Alfea?"

Marco sighed in defeat, and smiled at her. "Okay, you win."

"How's dinner and a movie sound? Wait for me at the gates of the castle at seven, okay?"

"Sounds great," Marco replied, smiling.

"By the way..." Mirta said looking around. "What are you doing here? I thought that maybe you were with Sky and Brandon, sparring or something like that."

Marco couldn't help but laugh. "Do you think that that's all what I do? Sure, I love to train and improve my skills with the sword and magic, but I also like these big fellas as well. Don't you like animals?"

"Of course I do. But I'm more of a puppy or cat person," said Mirta, taking a look at all the creatures around her.

"I thought that witches liked something more... fierce," Marco said.

"Well, I'm less of a witch than my appearance suggests," Mirta said with a shrug.

Suddenly, the egg Marco was watching cracked open, revealing a tiny dragon whelp inside. It looked like a really thin lizard with wings. It let out some high pitched yelps.

"Oh my," Mirta said, witnessing the dragon whelp. "It's so... cute! I can't believe that it will grow up into one of those monsters," Mirta said, pointing out the adult dragons around her.

"Dragons are beautiful, just in a different way," the paladin said. "Many people may find fangs, scales and claws ugly, but when I see a creature like that, I see the beauty of their strength, their majesty, and their uniqueness. When you go past their appearance and learn more about them, and know how they truly are, you'll see that they're fascinating creatures."

Two stable boys came and put the newborn dragon whelp inside a cage, and took it away.

"Well, I better leave before this smell gets into my clothes," Mirta joked. "Remember our date! And don't be late!"

The paladin saw the redhead, now his girlfriend, leaving the stables. Yes, he would be looking forward to the afternoon.

…

From one of the balconies of the Domino Royal Palace, Sky was witnessing the vast Capital City in all its glory. It was hard for him (and for just anybody) to imagine that, a year ago the beautiful world where he and his friends were temporarily staying was a frozen wasteland, almost as dangerous and inhospitable as the Omega Dimension. But things change in ways no one can imagine. The more the young king observed Domino, the more he remembered his home world, Eraklyon, which was as majestic as Domino, but now was a dark hell, and wondered if he could save it.

"Sky?" a voice from behind said. The blond king turned around, to see his fellow monarch, Oritel.

"Oh, good morning, your highness," Sky saluted politely as Oritel deserved.

"Drop the decorum, please. You soon will be my son in law. Call me simply Oritel," the brunet king said, smiling at Sky. "Anyway, have you seen Bloom?"

"Yes, this morning. She said that she'd hit the city again with Stella and Aisha."

"I see," Oritel said thoughtfully, "I wanted to talk with her, but guess that'll have to wait."

"Everything okay?" Sky ventured to ask.

"What? Oh, yes, everything's fine!" Oritel was quick to say. "But... I noticed that she's a bit distant. I was hoping that she'd spend some time with me and her mother. Anyway, guess that she's a young adult who prefers to hang out with her friends rather than with her old dad."

"Hey, you're not that old," Sky said, making Oritel to chuckle.

"I'm not? Still, I can't help but feel old," the brown haired man said. "One day you're living a happy life with your wife and your two daughters, and one day, BLAM! Your older daughter is gone, and the younger is a woman that you can't even recognize. "

"Well... things that are gone may come back some day. You're the very proof of it," Sky pointed out. "_Just like I hope my kingdom will come back soon_"

"It's too wonderful a day to spoil it inside the walls of the castle. Come on, let's go for a walk, now that we have time to know each other a bit better."

Oritel took Sky to the same gardens where Mirta and Flora were a few hours ago. Sky was a bit nervous, fiddling with his fingers. He had realized that he was Oritel's daughter's future husband after all, and wanted to know more things about him. Sky already had gone through that the times he visited Earth and met Mike and Vanessa. He was as nice and polite as he could be, and made a good impression. They were on good terms, but he could saw a bit of worry in Mike's eyes, maybe the natural overprotective instinct many dads have. It felt weird to have to go through that again.

"Sky, you and I are both kings. Even if you're inexperienced at ruling a nation, you'll realize that we have to make hard decisions pretty much every day of our lives," the king of Domino began.

"Yes, I know."

"Then, let me test you," Oritel said before clearing his throat. "Imagine a garden like this one, only split in two parts. On one part, there are many flowers, but they're pretty common, such as roses and daisies. In the other side, however, there's an extremely rare flower that takes a hundred years to blossom. Now imagine that the garden is on fire. You only have enough water to save one half of the garden. Which half would you choose?"

Sky thought carefully his answer. The question was an obvious allegory: in case of emergency, would Sky save as many strange people as he could, or would he abandon them to their luck and focus on his loved ones? If he chose the half of common flowers, it'll mean that he cares about people he doesn't know, but would forsake his loved ones, giving the impression that the needs of the many outweigh the few. On the other hand, of he chose the rare flower, it would mean that he cares a lot about his loved ones, but wouldn't give a damn about other people that may be dependent on him. He'd look like somebody completely selfish.

In conclusion: there was no right answer for that question. Or maybe there was, but wasn't obvious.

"I think that my garden wouldn't be split in two halves for starters. The rare flower and the common ones would be together in one place, so it's easier to protect in case of a fire," Sky finally answered, and looked at Oritel.

"Ingenious answer," Oritel smiled at him. "The purpose of this dilemma is to show somebody that, with careful planning and anticipation, hard decisions are much less difficult to make."

"I was thinking that I could ask somebody else for help and water in order to save both halves of the garden as well," the blond king continued.

"Ah, yes, a lesson about having trustful people at your side at every moment. However, there will be situations in which you forgot about placing the flowers together, or there's nobody to give you additional water. And if that time comes, you must act fast."

"What would you do, then?" Sky said, turning the question at him. "Would you save the half of the common flowers, or the half of the rare one?"

Oritel paused for a moment before revealing his answer. "I'd take a moment to see which one would be easier to save, and go for that one."

Sky was astonished by how fast Oritel answered such a hard question.

He noticed this, and finally said: "Sometimes it's necessary to make sacrifices. It's harder to save somebody who's close to death than somebody who isn't."

…

Like the night before, the Capital of Domino was swarming with people and was a hive of activity. Most stores were closed, but there were many restaurants and discotheques where people spent the night, having a great time.

Among the people having a great time were the Winx girls and the specialists, although not all of them. Bloom and Sky were spending the night with Oritel and Mariam, and Tecna and Timmy were at the Forge, now that they had another chance to see the technological marvel again.

When Musa told Tecna that she needed to forget about machines and have some fun, "Learning about ancient machines is fun. At least to me," the rose haired girl replied.

Mirta and Marco were also in the Capital City, but they were elsewhere, enjoying their date. Everybody agreed that they needed some time alone with each other.

"So, I was thinking," Stella began while she stirred her drink. "When are you guys going to take me to Solaria? You say it's my birthplace, yet I've never seen it."

"Soon, Stella. As soon as this mess with the Man in Black is resolved," Brandon said.

"But that could take forever!"

"Come on, you have to be patient, " Flora said in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah, if we go to Solaria soon it will be because it's in danger, like what happened with Melody," Musa said darkly.

"But I'm sure that it would help me to remember," Stella whined, and slumped on her seat. "Or if I see somebody from my family, like my dad."

"Come on Stella, we all miss our homes and families too," Brandon said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you try to have some fun? The Stella I remember was the most lively person I've ever met, and that's why I fell in love with her. Now she'd be enjoying the night, not grumbling. Don't you want to be that girl again?" Brandon smiled at her brightly. "So, how if we go to the dance floor? You loved to dance."

"Oooooookay..." Stella grumbled, and let Brandon took her to the dance floor.

"Maybe we should take a short trip to Solaria," Flora suggested. "I can't stand seeing Stella so gloomy. It's like seeing the sun blocked by gray clouds day after day."

"Hey, Stella's not a kid," Riven began. "Yeah, she went through something terrible, but that's not an excuse to indulge her every whim."

"Riven!" Musa yelled at her boyfriend. "You insensitive jerk!"

"I'm with Riven, Musa," Aisha interjected. "We'll go to Solaria only if it's absolutely necessary. Besides, she's starting to remember more things. Guess Mirta's therapy is working."

"Thank you," Riven said, and looked at Musa smugly.

"Too bad that this isn't like that time she was turned into a monster," Flora commented.

Everybody looked at her as if she said an obscenity. Nabu raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, somebody care to explain that?" asked the puzzled wizard. "And why was that good?"

Flora opened her eyes wide upon realizing how awful that sounded. "Sorry, I didn't mean that! I wanted to say that, when Stella was turned into a monster, we found a magic item called the Mirror of Truth that returned her to her normal appearance. I wish there was something that could restore her memories just as easily."

After that, Aisha explained Nabu how Chimera turned Stella into a hideous frog-like creature as part of a plan for her to usurp Stella's position as the princess of Solaria.

While they were talking, Flora noticed that her boyfriend was silent. Very silent. She decided she needed to know why.

"Helia, everything okay? You've been awfully quiet," Helia wasn't too talkative anyway, but Flora noticed that he was also distant, like his attention was somebody else.

"Those two guys. At the bar," Helia was looking at two men with sunglasses and coats that were constantly looking around, as if waiting the right moment to commit a felony. "They don't give me good vibes."

"Come on, relax. If they're up to no good, the City Guard will take care of them."

"Still, they make me feel uncomfortable," Helia said, and turned back to his girlfriend. "I have the feeling that something is going to happen, and it won't be pleasant."

As much as she wanted to deny it, Flora felt exactly the same way.

...

A lone figure was in a dark alleyway of the Capital of Domino. After making sure that nobody was watching her, she pulled a white gemstone from a pocket. The woman then whispered some words, and the gemstone glowed before projecting an image a man in a black armor wearing a silver mask.

"Master, I'm on Domino," Neyra said.

"Did anybody notice your presence?" asked the Man in Black.

"No, master. People here are happily naive. No wonder the ancestresses took down this place so easily."

"Don't underestimate Domino, my dear Neyra," the masked man advised. "It may look a harmless place, with all its green prairies, colorful flowers, and people so sweet they could give you diabetes. There's a good reason why its the most powerful kingdom of the known universe that only an army led by the ancestresses was able to crush."

"Then, allow me to test the bravery of its warriors," Neyra said as her face formed a wide grin.

"Sure, go ahead. Gaul and his minions are in position. Tell him to enter when you see it's the right time."

"Don't worry, Master. This won't last long."

"Of course it will. This won't be like Eraklyon. It will take lots of time and effort. It's a battle we can only win by slowly wearing them down."

"Don't worry, master, everything will be fine," the brunette witch said, ending the communication.

She looked around again to check that nobody was watching her. Anyway, it was a dark alley, and she spoke almost in a whisper to prevent anybody from hearing her. Before starting with the plan, she rolled up her sleeve to reveal a glowing red wrist cuff with a ruby on it. Her master gave it to her and another one to her sister; he called the artifact the Gloomix, and it would increase their power.

She already heard about the Gloomix: it was a variant from a fairy artifact called the Charmix. During the war with the Company of the Light, somebody started a game of stealing the charmix of every defeated fairy as a trophy, however some of the Coven's wizards got an idea: by inverting the positive energy of the Charmix, it could be used as a power booster for witches and dark mages, and thus, the Gloomix was born. Most Gloomix were destroyed by the Company of Light, and everybody with the knowledge to make them was dead. And one of the few remaining Gloomix was in her possession. And she'd need it for what she was about to do.

The young witch placed a hand on the floor and yelled:

"Summoning Spell!"

…

The people walking through the streets of the capital city stopped what they were doing to stare in awe at the pillar of red light that rose to the sky. Some thought that maybe it was a spectacle, to celebrate that the princess of their kingdom was back home again. However, the silence finally disappeared and the air was filled with screams of terror and panic.

From the red pillar of light, something appeared. It looked like a lion, only it was as big as a four story building, had black fur, a fiery red mane, long leather wings and a scorpion tail. The horrible beast let out a terrifying roar, as it watched the hysterical crowd that the citizens of the capital city turned into.

Standing on top of its head was Neyra, smirking in delight. She was also amazed to feel so much energy still flowing through her body after summoning the Great Masticore of Urahj. The other two times she summoned it, she felt incredibly tired afterward, to the point that her sister had to lend her some of her energy, or she had to take a restorative potion. But not this time. She smiled and enjoyed the destruction the masticore was causing. In a few minutes, the whole city would be in flames.

After all, the Great Masticore was the second most powerful creature she could summon.

…

Meanwhile, a couple kilometers away from the city and the Royal Palace, inside the Forge of Wonders, Tecna and Timmy were learning from Hagen the secrets of such a technological marvel from the distant past.

"...and once the piece is complete, it comes from this small lift," the old blacksmith explained.

"Hey, I was wondering... could the Forge be used to make something other than weapons or tools?" Tecna asked.

"What are you thinking, Tec?" her boyfriend asked.

"Pieces for machines, factories, vehicles and planes. Imagine, for example, an airship made with pieces of metal ten times lighter. It would take ten times less energy to fly, don't you think so?"

"But it will be just as resistant and durable," Timmy added.

"Exactly!" Tecna beamed. "Just think of the potential! All the things we could do with the technology of the Forge... we could speed the technological progress of the next thousand years to less than a decade!"

"You know, you have to be the first person, besides the creator of this place, who thinks of the Forge as something other than a magic weapons factory," Hagen intervened. "And honestly, that's something really good."

"Are you telling me that during your time as the Master Craftsman, you only used the Forge to produce weapons?" the pink haired fairy asked, shocked.

"Those were times of war, lass," Hagen gruffly replied. "Our main priority was the Ancient Coven."

"It has always been like that, Tecna. Not much longer after the first spaceships were invented, they were adapted to become war machines. Still, it doesn't erase all the good spaceships do every day, allowing people and goods to travel to one planet to another," Timmy said, attempting to console Tecna.

"Are you always that optimistic?" chuckled Tecna, raising an eyebrow.

"If I wasn't, maybe you would still be in the Omega Dimension," Timmy replied.

"Ah, touché."

Hagen cleared his throat loudly. He didn't want to see two teenagers getting all sugary with each other. "Now, is there anything I can show you?"

"Yes. I think it would be great if we could see it in action," Timmy suggested.

"Yes, it'd be nice to see how it works," Tecna added.

"Sorry, but that can't be. Even the simplest of the artifacts this place can create takes days of preparation," Hagen said. "Besides, when the Forge is used, it has to be for something important, not for trivialities."

"Okay, we understand and-" Tecna began, but stopped all of sudden.

"Tecna? Are you okay?" Timmy looked at her with worried eyes.

The rose haired girl turned at Timmy, equally worried.

"Undead. Hundreds. Coming here," she sputtered.

"WHAT?" Hagen roared. The old blacksmith began typing furiously on a keyboard. A holographic projection appeared before him: like Tecna said, lots and lots of skeletons were invading the Forge. "Where did those skeletons come from?"

"I'll call the others!" Timmy said while pulling out his badge and activating the alarm.

"Hopefully we can hold them off until the others arrive," said Tecna.

…

The panic quickly spread through the whole city. To make things worse, people were also being attacked by criminals like those Helia had been watching, who tossed away their coats, revealing their attire and weapons, and started attacking everybody. They already dispatched those at the bar, but there were still many freely roaming through the streets, while the masticore wrought havoc.

"Alright, we'll take care of those scoundrels," Brandon said, pressing a button on his badge, and in less than a second he was wearing his Red Fountain uniform, weapons included. The others did the same. "You'll have to take care of that monster"

"I love how we always get the easy part," Musa said, and rolled her eyes. "Go Enchantix!"

"I think it won't be necessary," Flora said, pointing to the masticore. Some of Domino's fairies and dragon riders had arrived, ready to fight the colossal monster.

"Still, we go should go and help," Aisha suggested.

"Oh no, you won't!" a voice behind them said. They turned around to see Neyra floating in front of them. "I don't know how you do it, but you always manage to stand in our way."

"You!" Stella yelled in an accusatory tone. "And you are...?"

"Of course, it had to be you," Flora said. "What are you doing here? Do you plan to conquer Domino like you did Eraklyon?"

"I didn't came here to talk, but to burn this city to ashes," Neyra said darkly. "But now that you're here, I guess that I should roast you too and score some points with the master. Meteor Storm!"

The dark sky turned red, and huge fireballs fell upon the city, breaking and burning its buildings.

"Girls, this witch summoned that monster, so if we defeat her, the monster will be gone!" Flora declared.

"Then it will be easy! It's four versus one!" Stella said confidently.

"Do you think I'm going to let you catch me so easily? Think again!" Neyra said, before flying away from the four fairies.

Neyra was fast. Even with their Enchantix wings, they were unable to catch her. She sometimes even slowed her speed or stopped and let the Winx come near her before flying away again, as a way to mock them. This angered Aisha, Musa and Stella a lot.

Besides, they also had to dodge the incoming fireballs that relentlessly lashed the city. Some of them pulled down entire buildings. One of the fireballs destroyed a bridge, and the people who were crossing it fell to their deaths while the luckiest managed to grab to some projecting object.

"Morphix Bubbles!" Aisha yelled. The falling people were surrounded by a bubble of morphix, breaking their fall. Aisha then motioned her arms towards a safe zone, and placed the rescued people there.

"Good catch! Now I'll save those on the projections. Green Luxurious Ivy!" Flora said, while motioning her arms at the people she wanted to save. Several roots grew from the walls, wrapped around the townspeople, and pulled them up.

"Think fast!" Neyra shouted before blasting Flora with a fireball. "You either save the people or fight me, your choice!"

Aisha managed to catch Flora in time, while Musa and Stella faced Neyra.

"Putting innocent people in danger so you can fight against us more easily. You're a cowardly rat!" Musa said with all her spite.

"Say what you want, dear," Neyra said in a mocking tone before flying away again.

"Stella, Musa, get her, I'll take care of Flora and make sure that everybody's safe! We will catch up with you later!" Aisha said.

"Don't worry, leave it to us! Come on Stella!" Musa said with strong determination.

They resumed the chase. They were tempted to stop and help the people in danger, but the Domino fairies and the City Guard were already taking care of them. Musa and Stella had a more important mission. If they stopped Neyra and her masticore, the city would be safe. Or would it?

They found Neyra again, sitting on the head of a four meter tall statue of Daphne.

"I'm tired of this running game," Neyra said as she faked a yawn. "Shall we finish this already?"

"You bet!"

Neyra formed a fireball in each hand. "Time for you to perish! Twisted Hell!"

"Sonic Blast!"

The vortex of fire and the sound waves clashed, but the witch's spell was much stronger, and overwhelmed Musa's attack. She was forced to fly away to avoid being burned.

"Moon Beam!" Stella shouted, casting a beam of white light at the witch, who blocked it with a shield of fire.

"I know you. You're the amnesiac girl, aren't you?" asked Neyra. "Why are you with them? Why do you trust a bunch of strangers to the point of fighting alongside them?"

"They're all I have now. They also told me that it was thanks to you that I lost my memories!" Stella replied angrily.

"And you believe them, don't you? How are you so sure of what they say? Aren't you afraid that they might be using you?"

"Maybe I don't remember them, but they've done nothing but treat me with love and respect!" Stella replied as she cast another Moon Beam.

Neyra blocked it again. She noted that this attack was stronger than the one before.

"I never understood you fairies. You have great power, yet you use it to help others. Why? Those people don't deserve to be helped!" Neyra yelled with all her hate. "They should worship us, fear us!" She cast a stream of fire.

Musa rejoined the fight, and redirected Neyra's attack to the sky. "That's what you fight for, a world full of fear? Fear brings nothing but hate and unhappiness!" Musa said before casting a sound wave attack.

Neyra erected her fire shield again, but this time it couldn't block Musa's attack completely. "Sheep fear wolves, just like these little weak people should be afraid of us!"

"Oh, shut up! If you like fear so much, I'll teach you to fear ME!" Stella yelled. "Shooting Star!"

Stella shot a cluster of white stars at the fire witch, who was unable to block the attack, taking a great deal of harm.

"What's going on? Why are you so powerful all of sudden?" Neyra said, panting.

"Do you feel that? In the last fifteen minutes, about thirty fairies achieved their Enchantix," Musa explained. "And when that happens, other fairies get a power boost for a short time. Fairies become more powerful when we fight for others instead of ourselves. And we do that because we want to, but I don't expect you to understand."

"Shut up! You know nothing about me!" Neyra yelled, and flew away. However, this time she wasn't fleeing just to mock her enemies.

"Another chase? This is starting to get a bit tiresome," Stella whined.

"Come on Stella, we can't let her escape!"

And thus, Musa and Stella resumed the chase.

…

Meanwhile, at the Forge of Wonders, Tecna, Timmy and Hagen were fighting the invading skeletons. They almost reached the mechanical brain, but the three defenders managed to push them back to the Hall of Enlightenment.

"I wasn't expecting to see undead again," Tecna said while blasting a skeleton.

"Have you faced these monsters before?" asked Hagen.

"Many times," Timmy said, firing his two guns left and right.

"Far too many times for my taste," Tecna added. "I was hoping that with Gaul out of the picture, the Man in Black wouldn't have access to undead anymore."

"And why do you think such thing?" a familiar voice asked. Suddenly, all the skeletons stopped fighting. A cloud of black fog appeared before them, and Gaul emerged from it in all his undead glory. "Hello kids. I'm glad to see you again."

Hagen was startled upon seeing the lich, while Tecna and Timmy simply stared at him in awe.

"It can't be!" Timmy said in horror.

"Musa blew you up to pieces! I saw it?" Tecna shouted at him.

"Really? Well, you can't kill somebody who's already dead, now can you?" Gaul retorted.

"What are you doing here, monster? What do you want?" asked Hagen, pointing his sword at him.

"It isn't obvious? I came here to claim the Forge," Gaul said.

"Well, forget it! We already defeated you once, and will do it again!" Tecna said, defiantly.

"Really? I don't think so," Gaul said darkly. "Because my minions are attacking the capital city, keeping all your friends busy. Honestly, I was expecting this place to be empty, but one fairy, her boy toy, and an old man won't be too much trouble."

"Timmy, I need you and Hagen to keep those skeletons in check," Tecna whispered to him. "I'm going to fight him."

"What? But you can't do that! He's too powerful for you!" Timmy said, worried.

Tecna turned at him, and smiled. "Timmy, don't worry about me. If I survived a whole week alone on the Omega Dimension, I'm sure I can handle this." The pink haired fairy floated towards Gaul. "Shall we fight?"

"Do you plan to face me all by yourself?" Gaul asked, a bit surprised. "You're brave, but foolish."

Tecna adopted a battle stance. "No, it's you who's being a fool for underestimating my abilities. Now I'm going to show you what I'm capable of!"

**Author's note: first of all, let me apologize again for the lateness of this chapter, but my writer's block refused to leave. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. As you can see there's a three way battle going on: Stella and Musa versus Tecna, the specialists versus the masticore and the mercenaries (it will be shown in the next chapter) and Tecna** **against Gaul. How will those battles turn out? Find out next chapter, and don't forget tpo share your opinion on this chapter with me via reviews!**


	29. The Second Battle of the Forge

**Author's note: Argh! After almost three months, I finally update a new chapter! I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but between exams and writer's block, I was unable to write anything. Now that I finally have tons of free time, I'll try to update more often. Now, enjoy the chapter.  
**

**Chapter 29: The Second Battle of the Forge**

As Tecna and Gaul got ready for their duel, Gaul's army of skeletons quickly surrounded Timmy and Hagen. Timmy nervously aimed his guns at any incoming undead. Hagen, on the other hand, was quite confident.

"They're too much for just you and me. And Tecna won't be able to help us either," Timmy said. "The odds of winning are really low."

"Then let's make this fight a little more balanced!" Hagen said before pulling out a remote and pressing a couple of buttons.

Suddenly, dozens of secret compartments across the Hall opened, revealing a robotic guard inside each one of them. The robot guards looked like those the Winx fought in Haggard, except that these were bigger and bulkier. Upon being activated with a switching noise, they pulled out a sword and began to battle the skeletons.

"Do you think that I was going to leave a place like this unguarded?" Hagen asked Gaul.

"In the long run, the result will be the same," Gaul said with a shrug. He then turned to Tecna, and adopted a battle stance as well. "Ladies go first!"

Tecna lost no time and raised her hands over her head, summoning a sphere of green lightning that sparkled small bolts of electricity. "Electric Storm!" Tecna shouted, tossing the ball of lightning at the lich.

With a mocking laugh, Gaul raised a shield and blocked it.

"It's all you-" but the undead sorcerer was silenced when another bolt of green lightning blasted him away. "Ugh... you attacked a second time right after the first one... really clever, girl."

"That's just a small bit of what I have in store for you, monster!" Tecna said, not letting her guard down for a single second.

"Then it's only fair for me to show what I have in store for you, little fairy," Gaul said with a dark cackle. "Wave of Death!"

Gaul released a black-edged green energy at the fairy of technology, who dodged it rather narrowly. Gaul wasn't going to let his foe have any time to breathe, and prepared another attack. His skeletal hands began to glow white, and summoned a bunch of wraiths. The wraiths quickly surrounded Tecna and began to quickly spin around her. Tecna was trying desperately to hit any of the ghosts with her beams of energy, but they were too fast. Gaul then clamped his hands into fists, and all the wraiths crashed against Tecna, who disappeared inside the explosion of white light. When the explosion ended, the badly bruised and unconscious Tecna fell to the ground.

Still cackling, Gaul hovered near her. "Such an unworthy opponent. For some reason, I expected you to put up a better fight," he then extended his right arm, and a black scythe appeared between his fingers. "Now, this may sting a little. SOUL CHOPPER!"

The lich swung the deathly scythe at Tecna's body, which immediately vanished. "What the...?"

Before the lich could finish, he was blasted from behind by a bolt of green lightning.

"My holograms are indeed a piece of art, don't you think so?" Tecna said smugly.

"You think you're really clever, don't you?" Gaul spat.

"I don't think it. I _am._"

"Well, then I'd love you to see you come up with a way to fight me while protecting your boyfriend."

"Timmy doesn't need to be protected!" Tecna retorted.

"Really? Maybe you should take a look," Gaul said.

Tecna wasn't going to fall into the obvious trap of losing sight of her enemy, and she simply looked at Timmy with out of the corner of her eye. She saw that about half of the guard robots were reduced to scraps by the never ending army of skeletons, and Timmy and Hagen were being slowly cornered by them. Tecna grew worried for him.

Thinking she was distracted as he was expecting, Gaul attacked Tecna with a deadly black beam of energy, but Tecna caught Gaul in time, and fired another attack. The two beams collided, creating an explosion that Tecna wisely used as a cover to go near Timmy.

"Timmy, are you okay?" Tecna asked, worried.

"I'm fine. But what are you doing? You should be dealing with that lich!" Timmy said, almost in a scolding tone.

"I know, but I can't concentrate knowing that you're in danger," Tecna said, blasting some skeletons away. He then looked at the wrecked robots, and grinned. "This will be of some help. Mechanical Rebirth!"

Tecna released several small glowing green spheres that flied at the destroyed robots, and upon touching them, the robots reconstructed themselves, and rejoined the battle.

"I haven't seen too many girls with your hand for mechanics. I'd kill to have an assistant like you." Hagen complimented.

"I must admit," Gaul said, hovering near Tecna. "That you're craftier than I thought."

"You haven't seen anything yet!" Tecna said, as she started to glow with a green light.

"There's something about you that changed from the last time we met, but what it is? What makes you this strong?" Gaul pondered. "Domino is a nexus of positive energy, ergo your powers are increased while mine are diminished, but I already took account of that. There's something that's making you stronger, but what it is?"

"Ha! Can't you figure it out? Because it's extremely obvious," Tecna said. She cast her hands at one of the wrecked robots, and it immediately dismantled itself into its basic components, which some of them floated towards Tecna's arm, and began to assemble around it forming a hand cannon. She motioned her other hand, and the lich was wrapped around chains made of electricity.

"To make sure you don't escape," Tecna said even before Gaul could ask anything. "This force field will also prevent you from teleporting away."

"The Forge!" Gaul yelled in realization, not even trying to break free from Tecna's electric grip. "The Forge itself it's what makes you more powerful! Such a shame that I hadn't figured it out earlier."

"It doesn't matter, because the fight ends now. I don't know how do you managed to resist Musa and Galatea's combined attack, but I'm certainly sure that you won't survive this." Tecna aimed her hand cannon at the lich. Energy particles began to gather forming a glowing, green sphere of energy. "PROTON CRUSHER!"

Tecna's canon fired a huge laser beam that illuminated the entire place with a green light, and it caused a deafening explosion when it hit the Lich. When the explosion was over, Gaul wasn't there anymore.

With a heavy sigh, Tecna removed the arm cannon from her arm and tossed it away. She descended, kneeling over the floor, exhausted. She had used most of her energy on that last attack, but she had to make sure that the Lich wouldn't survive. She heard Timmy and Hagen still fighting against the skeletons, with the only help of the few remaining robotic guards. She had to help them, but first she needed to take a breath.

Then she realized of something.

_Those skeletons shouldn't be moving anymore now that their master is dead. Which means that..._

A cloud of black smoke appeared before the pink-haired fairy, and from the cloud, the lich emerged. His bones and clothes were slightly charred, but he seemed to be fine and dandy.

"How...how could-" Tecna tried to say.

"How did I survive? Well, it wasn't as easy as I'd like to admit. You made sure that I wouldn't move, thinking that that would be enough, " Gaul cackled. "But you didn't think that, maybe, just maybe, somebody else would be kind enough to take that impressive attack for me."

"What But who...?"

"While you were charging that energy-burning superlaser, I ordered several of my minions to stay in your way. Of course, that wasn't enough to completely block it, but it was for softening it," Gaul explained. "And now that your magic power is completely drained... well, from what little I know of you, you love to to do statistics, so go ahead and tell me your chances of leaving this place alive."

Tecna knew he was right. She couldn't stand up, much less fight. She hadn't expect for Gaul to survive that attack. Next time, she'd take into account more possibilities. But first she had to make sure that there would be a next time.

Using the little energy she had left, she commanded to the three remaining robot guards to attack Gaul, while she slowly moved away from him.

"Timmy! Timmy!" She cried.

"Don't worry Tecna, I'm here!" Timmy said, making his way through the sea of skeletons, firing his guns non-stop, until he met his girlfriend. "Tecna! Are you okay? Come on, we have to get out of this place!"

"No, no! We can't lose the Forge!" Tecna protested. "I just need some time to recover, and for you to protect me, since I'll be vulnerable. Besides, I'm sure that somebody, anybody, will come to help us in no time."

"Don't worry Tecna, you can count on me!" Timmy said proudly, while blasting two skeletons' heads.

"I'm sorry for being such a burden..."

"Don't say that. You just need a breath. Everybody does, sometimes," Timmy said with a wink, making Tecna smile.

…

What it started as a perfectly normal date for Mirta and Marco turned into a madness fest in a matter of seconds. They were enjoying dinner in a fancy (but not too costly) restaurant while they learned more about each other, when suddenly a couple of random guys pulled out weapons and started attacking everybody. The half-fairy and the paladin defeated them in no time, and left them in the custody of two city guards.

Mirta, however, felt a wave of panic from the people outside, and upon going out of the restaurant, she immediately saw a monstrous creature that it looked like a winged lion with a scorpion tail. She also noticed that the city guards were fighting against many armed and dangerous looking men.

"What the hell is going on?" Mirta asked, looking around.

"I don't know, but we have to do something!" Marco said with determination. He reached his sword instinctively, only to see that it wasn't there. He then realized that he wasn't wearing his uniform, but the casual clothes for his date with Mirta.

"Oh, curses! I have none of my battle gear!" Marco said in anger. "I left it on my room at the Royal Palace! I have to go back!"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Mirta said. "Tecna gave you a Winx Badge, didn't she?"

Marco pulled the badge from his pocket.

"Thanks goodness that you brought it," Mirta said as she stepped near the badge. "Activate Battle Mode!"

The badge began to glow and beep, and in a flash of light, Marco was wearing his armor set, sword included.

"Wow, this thing is really useful!" Marco gushed, looking at his badge. "Hey, why is still beeping?"

Mirta's badge was beeping as well. She pulled it out and looked what it was.

"It's the help signal! Tecna's calling for help!"

"Guess that she's fighting against that monster, and needs our help," Marco deduced.

"Uh, no, the signal comes from out of the town...hey, I think it's the location of the forge!"

Marco looking at the chaos around him pensive, and finally said: "Then this massive attack is nothing but a distraction. They want us to focus on the city and leave the forge unprotected."

"Then that means that Tecna is fighting alone against The Great Dragon knows what!" Mirta said in panic. "We must help her!"

"Indeed," Marco said. "Should we tell the others?"

"The help signal appears on every badge. They probably know already."

"Then go ahead, I'll catch you later."

"What?" Mirta asked in surprise. "Don't you want to go together?"

"No, it's better this way. You can fly, I can't, at least not yet, so you can get there much faster than me."

"But...what if you're attacked? It isn't better to stick together?"

"It's Tecna who needs help, not me," the paladin said in a firm tone, but in order to calm down Mirta, he added "And even if I'm attacked, I can take care of myself. Now go!"

Mirta nodded and flew off in the direction of the forge while Marco followed her on foot.

…

Meanwhile, back in the Forge, Timmy and Hagen protected Tecna the best they could against the neverending wave of zombies and skeletons that filled the place by the second, while Gaul fought with the last robotic guards.

"I hate to admit it, but this doesn't look good," Hagen said while slashing an attacking zombie. "If we don't get reinforcements soon..."

"Things would be easier if these guns were flamethrowers," Timmy sighed while shooting at the zombies and skeletons nonstop. "Undead can't stand light and heat."

Then, as if an invisible genie listened to Timmy's wish, his guns stopped firing laser bolts and released a wide and long flaming blazes, setting Gaul's minions on fire. Timmy took a second to understand what just happened.

"What the...?" Timmy asked, perplexed. "This gun... does this gun change ammunition at the user's will?"

Even if it wasn't the best situation for an experiment, Timmy decided to think in another kind of ammunition. This time, the guns fired two shockwaves that hurled a bunch of skeletons backwards, and even cracked their bones, weapons and armors.

"Yes, yes it can!" Timmy said in joy, then he turned to Hagen. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Guns ain't my thing, kid," Hagen replied surlily. "I prefer good old swords, since I'm more of a first line fighter."

Timmy mentally set his guns again to flamethrowers and continued incinerating skeletons. Tecna was behind him, on her knees, heaving. "Hey Tec, how are you doing?"

"Just give me a minute," Tecna replied, as she gathered as much energy as possible. Using the technique she learned from Arthaia, asked her home planet Zenith to lend her some power. At the same time Tecna was drawing power from the Forge (she has been doing that since the fight with Gaul started), in order to recover herself faster.

Gaul, who just had dispatched the last remaining robots, was ready to eliminate the three obstacles that were in the way between him and the Forge.

"I admit that I had some fun fighting you, but this pathetic charade has been going on for too long," the Lich said with a touch of annoyance. "Admit defeat, and your deaths will be quick."

"If you think that we're going to give up," Tecna began to say as she stood up (with a little help from Timmy), "then your brain must be as rotten as the flesh of the corpses you command."

"Ha, defiant to the end. So young, pretty, intelligent, and even brave. I think I'm going to kill you first."

"Nobody's going to be killed tonight, monster!" said a new voice, familiar voice from behind him.

Gaul turned back, and saw the rest of the Winx girls, in their Enchantix outfit, ready to give the Lich the beating of his life (or death). For first time in years, Gaul was speechless.

"What? How can be...?" Gaul said, stunned. How the other fairy brats were there? They should be fighting Neyra and her masticore on the city! Or maybe Neyra was defeated faster than he had anticipated.

But what shocked him more was that he didn't sense them coming. How?

Timmy took advantage of Gaul's confusion and fired his guns on him, setting him on fire. While Gaul screamed and used all his power and concentration to put down the flames charring his bones, he lost control of his undead army for a few seconds, and stood there doing nothing. Both Hagen and Timmy started killing the motionless skeletons.

Tecna felt that her legs were failing again, but somebody caught her in time.

"Are you okay?" asked Mirta.

"I've been better," Tecna replied. "Thank goodness somebody came to help. And nice illusions."

"Marco will join us soon," Mirta said. She then opened her hand, muttered a spell, and a red potion appeared in it. "Come on, drink this, it's a restorative."

The potion took effect almost immediately. After Tecna drank the whole potion, she felt the pain and soreness that was numbing her muscles slowly disappearing, and a wave of energy filled her body.

"I thought that we already took care of the Lich."

"I thought that too. I saw Musa blowing him up to pieces. It's just not logical. There must be something I'm missing," Tecna pondered.

Meanwhile, Gaul already managed to put down the fires and recover some energy to continue the battle.

"Deceived by such a low-grade trick," Gaul said, his voice oozing a huge resentment. "I'm going to make you pay for such humiliation!"

The Lich raised both hands, and a dimensional portal opened above him. Flying wraiths started to come out of it.

"Spirits of the damned, pull that girl's spirit out of her body, and devour it! Do as I say!"

Following the Lich's command, the ghosts dived at Mirta, but the redhead was prepared.

"Spiral Shield!" the redhead yelled.

Three red glowing orbs of energy appeared and started to spin around Mirta at an astonishly high speed. Whenever one of the specters came near her, he was repelled by the spinning orbs. Gaul couldn't continue watching his wraiths being unable to lay a finger on the half witch's skin, and decided that it was time to ditch subtlety and make use of his most violent and destructive spells.

"Impressive defense, let's see what can you do against THIS!" the Lich yelled as he motioned his hands at Mirta.

Suddenly, the wraiths disappeared, and were replaced by a huge, ghostly dragon. The dragon let out a terrifying roar, and swung its tail at Mirta. Mirta's shield was unable to block such a mighty swipe, and the half witch was hurled backwards and crashed against a wall.

"No matter how hard you try, you guys are no match for my deathly magic!" Gaul said, still enraged. "Dragon Soulfire!"

The ghostly dragon roared again, leaned its head backwards, and shoot a blaze of blue fire at Mirta. Tecna was abler to put on the deadly flame's way and cast a protective shield. The dragon vanished.

"Phew, thank you, that was close," Mirta said in relief as she stood up. "I just forgot how strong that lich is."

"Despite the advantage we have here, our chances of losing only increase the longer the fight lasts," Tecna pondered darkly.

"If only the others could come..."

"Meanwhile, we're going to need some more firepower. Mirta, I need you to cover me for some moments," the rose haired girl said. Then she turned at Timmy, and said "Timmy, get ready! You're going to get some new gear and weapons!"

"What? What do you mean?" Timmy asked while shooting skeletons.

"You'll see it soon. Now I need to concentrate..."

The fairy of technology began to glow green as she used all her brainpower and energy for her next move. Scrapped pieces of the destroyed robots began to glow and levitate, spinning slowly around Timmy. The pieces began to assemble around the specialist, forming arms, legs, and a main body. When Tecna finished her spell, Timmy was now inside a three meter tall robot.

"Wow, this so cool!" Timmy gushed as he moved the robot. "You certainly work much better under pressure, Tec."

The robot was equipped with two laser beams, a flamethrower, circular chainsaw on its right arm and a claw on its left arm. Timmy immediately put the robot to good use, and started to wreck havoc among Gaul's minions.

"You know girl, if we had you in the Company of the Light twenty years ago, things would have gone a bit better!" Hagen said totally impressed.

"Don't get your hopes up already, I used a lot of energy to build that robot, but I think that it will pay off," Tecna then turned at Mirta, and said: "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I ever be," was Mirta's answer.

And thus, Tecna, Mirta, Timmy and Hagen charged against the Lich and his horde of corpses. However, before they could do anything, they feet sunk on the floor, which had just turned into mud.

"What the hell is this?" Hagen asked while trying to get out of the mud.

"One of Gaul's spells! We must get out of here!" Tecna urged. "This mud will also start to spawn zombies!"

"You've been fighting for too long, and are exhausted. You don't have enough energy to get out of my swamp. The mud will suck until there's nothing left of-!" but Gaul was interrupted when somebody slashed his spinal cord, and his upper body (well, the ribcage, arms, neck, and head) fell backwards. The mud disappeared instantly.

"Are you guys okay?" Marco asked.

"Marco! You couldn't have come in a better moment!" Mirta gushed.

"Marco, watch out! That Lich isn't dead!" Timmy warned.

"What?" the paladin turned around to see that, as if time went backwards, Gaul's bones assembling together like they used to be.

"Surprised, kid?" the skeletal sorcerer asked.

"Hardly," Marco said defiantly as he adopted a battle stance.

Suddenly, all the skeletons and zombies fell to the floor, motionless. Everybody looked around.

"Hey, what happened?" Marco asked.

"Oh my," Tecna said, as her eyes scanned the Lich. "I think that he's gathering all of his minions' energy on himself."

"He's going to prepare for a desperate attack! This is our chance to get rid of him forever!" Timmy said.

"Let's see who's going to be desperate, kid," Gaul said darkly as he prepared his next spell.

…

Meanwhile, back at the city, Aisha and Flora, plus the specialists were fighting against the rampaging masticore, while Musa and Stella kept chasing Neyra. The army of Domino loaned some dragons to the specialists so they could fight against the Masticore better.

"Okay, this is the plan," Riven spoke up. "Flora and Aisha will distract that monster while we finish it."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Aisha asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"We will fly above it and jump on its back. We will cause injuries until it's dead."

"Easier said than done," Helia sighed.

"I don't care if it's not easy as long as it's possible," Brandon interjected.

"Alright, let's do it," said Flora with less enthusiasm that she'd like to show.

"We should aim for its face," Aisha suggested, and Flora nodded in approval.

Despite Aisha's suggestions, the two fairies avoided being too close to the masticore's mouth, not just to avoid its fire breath, but because they could be easily devoured. Both fairies shot beams of energy at the eyes, nose and ears, the most vulnerable parts. The masticore roared in pain, letting out a blaze of flames, and tried to swipe Flora and Aisha away with its paws.

The two fairies were successful, since the dragons ridden by the specialists overflew the giant monster, and jumped from their steeds to land on the masticore's back. Nabu cast a spell named Feather Fall in order to slow the fall's speed.

"Okay, we're here. Now what?" asked Helia.

"How about this?" Brandon said before raising his hammer above his head, and slamming the masticore's back with it.

The masticore let another roar of pain and shook violently in an attempt to toss the tiny humans away from its back. Riven almost fell, but Nabu managed to catch him inside an energy bubble and pulled him up.

"Good job Nabu," Riven said. "Now it's my turn!"

The maroon haired specialist ran to the base of the right wing, and started to cut it. Despite the leather skin of the wing being thick and hard, Riven's swords cut it as easily as if it were butter. When he was done, one of the wings fell to the ground and turned into dust, and the masticore roared again.

This time, however, the hybrid monster opted for a different tactic and tried to stab the specialists with its stinger tail. It stabbed several times on its own back, but the masticore seemed to be immune to its own sting.

"Okay, new problem, any ideas?" Riven asked.

"Maybe this will be of some help," Helia said as if he had an infallible plan.

The sting descended again and missed again, but this time Helia swung his Serpent Blade forwards releasing the blade from the handle. The blade, linked to a chain, wrapped around the masticore's tail successfully.

"Quickly, somebody cut the tail! I don't know how longer I can hold it!" the long haired specialist said as he struggled with the pulling tail.

"Leave it to me!" Riven said before leaping at the tail, and slicing it. The sliced half vanished into dust almost instantly. The masticore roared again.

"I hope this isn't one of those monsters who can regenerate limbs in seconds," Nabu commented.

"Do you know creatures like that?" Brandon asked.

"Oh, yes! The krakens from the seas of Andros regenerate their tentacles if they lose them. It's a great defense mechanism because-"

"Could you leave the biology class for later? We have a monster to kill!" Riven urged.

"Brandon, slam your hammer on the base of the neck. That's where the spinal cord should be," Helia suggested.

Brandon nodded in agreement, and walked towards the masticore's head. However, as if the hybrid monster guessed the specialist's intentions, it reared up, tossing the specialists away. Fortunately for them, Nabu used his Feather Fall spell again, saving his friends if not from death from several broken bones. Unfortunately for them, the masticore was looking at them from above, its eyes filled with rage. It opened its large mouth, releasing a huge fireball at them.

"Super Morphix Wall!"

A pink wall appeared between the specialists and the masticore, blocking the fireball and tossing it back at the one winged creature. Aisha and Flora descended upon their male friends.

"Are you guys okay?" Flora asked, with a bit of worry in her voice.

"Much better than ten seconds ago, when I thought I was going to have an horrible death between the flames," Riven commented.

"Good, because we're going to need all our strength to beat that demon!" Aisha said as she watched her morphix wall being torn to pieces by a swipe of the masticore's paw.

"I have an idea. Maybe it won't kill the masticore, but it certainly will hurt it a lot," Brandon commented. "But I need it to be immobilized. Flora, do you think you can trap it with your vines?"

"I don't know, but I can try. I'm going to need to use a lot of my power to trap such a huge creature..." Flora said, unconvinced.

"Come on Flora, I know you can do it. You already this did this many times before, remember?" Helia said, trying to encourage his girlfriend. "And you weren't half as strong as you're now."

"Alright...I'll try it...No! I'll DO it!"

The fairy of nature ascended until she was at the same level of the masticore's head. She closed her eyes, and thought of her home world, Linphea. Her body started to glow green as her body overflowed with nature energy.

"Aisha, you have to protect her, she's vulnerable to the monster's attack!" Helia adviced with worry in his voice.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Aisha said before flying towards Flora, and protecting her friend and herself with another morphix wall.

"Great Emerald Forest!" Flora yelled.

After Flora released all her energy she had been storing for the past minute, trees started to grow under the masticore at an unbelievably fast speed. In less than ten seconds, the fiery monster was trapped between several mighty trees, with their many branches wrapped against the masticore's body and limbs.

"Okay Brandon, it's your chance! Your plan better work!" Aisha shouted from above.

"I have a feeling it will work," Brandon said with determination. "Now guys, I'm going to need some space."

Brandon grabbed his hammer with both hands, and started to spin it. Slowly at first, but the spinning speed started to increase, to the point where the hammer wasn't even visible anymore. The hammer also started to glow with a blue light, and winds started to raise around the brown haired specialist. Then, we he thought it was moment, it launched the hammer at the masticore's face.

The next thing everyone remembered was a blinding flash of blue light, deafening thunder, lightning bolts falling everywhere, a roar of pain, and the masticore finally disappearing from the city of Domino.

…

Meanwhile, in another side of the city, Neyra, who was still fighting Musa and Stella, sensed that her summoned monster had abandoned this world. She deduced that the huge explosion that saw and heard at the same time had something to do with it.

"Hey, what's going on? Do you give up?" Stella asked upon noticing that the fire witch's attention was somewhere else.

"What happened? Didn't everything went according to the plan?" asked Musa in a mocking tone.

"This isn't the end, little fairies. We will meet again, sooner than you expect!" Neyra said before disappearing in a ball of fire.

"They all say the same thing before leaving. How unoriginal," Musa said, shaking her head.

"Maybe we should check that everything is okay and help whoever needs it," Stella suggested.

Musa nodded in agreement, and flew together above the chaotic city.

…

And finally, in the Forge, Gaul was still fighting against the two fairies, the specialist inside a giant robot, the paladin and the old blacksmith.

"Dragon Soulfire!"

Another spectral dragon summoned by the Lich let out a blaze of blue flames, but the attack was blocked by Tecna's shield. Timmy aimed its lasers at the dragon, destroying it for good, and attempted to slice the lich in half with his chainsaw arm. Gaul dodged the swing, but he couldn't dodge Marco's fist of justice. Visibly harmed, he teleported to another side of the room, and summoned four ghostly knights.

The ghostly knights charged at the group. Timmy destroyed one with a barrage of missiles, while Marco and Hagen dealt with the rest. Tecna and Mirta approached the Lich, since they weren't going to give him a moment to rest.

"Come on, surrender already, you've lost!" Tecna said.

"No, I didn't lose! I can't lose! Not to a bunch of little girls like you!" Gaul said.

"And that's why you lose. You think of us as little girls with wings, but we're not," Tecna retorted.

"You'll be CORPSES!" Gaul said as he dived at them while he summoned his scythe again.

However, Gaul's attack was interrupted when a fireball clashed against his skull. The attack wasn't strong enough to destroy his body, but it certainly weakened him. The Dragon Fire was terrible for undead.

Gaul looked up, and saw Bloom floating above him, between Tecna and Mirta, with another fireball ready on her right hand. Behind her, there were her parents the King and Queen of Domino, her fiancé the (former) King Sky, and a detachment of the Domino army.

"I'm in a serious predicament, aren't I?" Gaul said in a surprisingly calm tone.

"Surrender, Lich. There's nothing you can do," Bloom said in a threatening tone.

"Or what? You'll kill me? Come on, go ahead! Your friends already tried it back on Melody, but maybe you'll have more luck!" Gaul taunted.

"Then we will lock you in a place where you can't cause more harm," Oritel said.

"Foolish king... no prison can hold me," Gaul said with a mad cackle. "Savor your victory, because it won't last for long. We will meet again... soon..."

And the Lich disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

There was silence for a few seconds, until finally Bloom turned to the others and spoke.

"Can somebody tell me what just happened?"

**Author's note: Don't you guys never got the impression that all what the specialists studied at RF was never put to use? I mean, they teach them to fight monsters, rescue people and such, yet when the time comes they never do anything. That's what moved me to have the specialists to deal with the masticore while Flora and Aisha were just the distraction. I want them to be more than mere love interests.**

**Another thing that bugged me: Tecna, or better said, her magic. She's the fairy of technology, but 95% of the time she only casts electric bolts and create shields. I always thought that she could, I dunno, create robots out of scrapped pieces of machinery and such, or use her magic to repair damaged spaceships.  
**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this action filled chapter. This arc, the Domino arc, will be very action filled, just to let you now. Character development and relationships will have to wait a little. I'm really glad to update something again, and don't forget to review!  
**


	30. Journey through the Dreams

**Chapter 30: Journey through the Dreams.**

"I should have guessed that this would happen."

King Oritel wandered around the throne room nervously. Domino was supposed to be one of the most powerful kingdoms in the known universe, yet a sneak attack composed of a small force caused massive damage. He still couldn't believe that there weren't any casualties. Now he, his wife, daughter and future son in law were discussing the situation and possible actions.

"It's not your fault, father," Bloom replied, trying to calm him down. "The Man in Black wanted to claim the Forge once before, so it was obvious that he was going to try again."

"And he will try again," Queen Mariam stated matter-of-factly. "Both he and Valtor are the same: when they set their sight on something, they won't stop until they get it."

"They tried to steal the Forge with deception, but that failed. It's safe to say that the next thing they try will be a full-scale invasion," Sky commented.

"I already thought if that, and talked to all my generals. By the end of the day most of the army will be stationed here, defending the Capital, the Royal Palace, and the Forge. Those will be their main targets."

"Couldn't it be a distraction?" asked Bloom. "He seems the kind of guy who prefers to use brute force over clever tactics, but he already outsmarted us once."

"And we paid a huge price for it," Sky interjected.

"We've taken that possibility into account, but there's no other point of interest other than those Oritel mentioned," Queen Mariam said.

"I can't help but feel that we're overlooking something," Sky said with a dubious look on his face.

"I know how you feel. You've been fooled once, and now you think that you will be fooled again," King Oritel said in a comforting tone. "Don't worry, it happens to everybody."

"Even to you?"

"Yes, even to me."

"Really? When? How? Your fame as a warrior is legendary. I can't imagine anybody fooling you."

"Okay, I'll satisfy your curiosity," King Oritel said with a chuckle, before beginning his short tale. "It was many years ago, before the war with the Ancient Coven. I was more or less your age, maybe a bit older. I was serving in the army, because it's tradition for all princes of Domino to do so. At the time, I was a lieutenant. Before being recently promoted to commander, skipping the rank of captain, and I was in fact, the youngest commander the army of Domino ever had

"As you can guess, this decision was met with a lot of opposition, especially by other officers, who were older, had more experience, and aspired to the rank, accused my appointment as nepotism, and claimed that I wasn't fit for the rank. My father defended me, claiming that my promotion wasn't due to me being the crown prince, but due to my excellent fighting abilities, combat merits and strategic skill. And to prove his decision, he sent me and my division to a dangerous task: stop a group called The Black Moon Circle, a minor coven that kidnapped people to use as human sacrifices in order to summon demons. My father and their generals had been trying to dismantle them, with little success

"As you can expect, I not only saw this as an opportunity to gain my seniors' respect, but as an opportunity to become a hero. I carefully investigated said coven, gathered all the information I could, such as their numbers, identity of their top rank members, the location of their secret hideouts, and when the time came, I attacked. One by one, all their secret lodges fell to the swords of my men, until the coven took refuge in their last lodge. I thought that they were preparing for a last stand, but when I realized what was going on, it was too late.

"When we arrived at their last lodge, we found it empty. Thinking that they had taken off, we dispersed and investigated the place, looking for anything useful. In fact, they didn't go anywhere. With my forces dispersed, they were easily killed or knocked out by the coven's forces, until they finally captured me. Two weeks later, they exchanged me for several of their captured members."

"That had to be tough," Sky commented, once he realized Oritel had finished his tale. "What happened next?"

"Well, as you can guess, I slumped in a depression. Not for the weeks I spent in captivity, but for how I let those guys fool me. I brought humiliation to both me and my father, and I was demoted back to lieutenant," Oritel said. "You see, all my early victories were meaningless, since they already knew all my steps. Months later, we found out that one of the generals was a traitor. No, not a traitor, an imposter, who killed the real general and took his place with the help of a shape-shifting potion. It was him who leaked information to the coven, and informed them about all what I did."

"It's not the same. You didn't know that there was a traitor among your ranks," Sky protested.

"And you didn't know that the Man in Black wasn't after my daughter, but after your planet," Oritel continued. "Don't be too hard on yourself just because you were fooled once. Like you, I lost a kingdom once, but I got it back. And soon, so will you."

Despite the encouraging words, Oritel couldn't help but wonder if he would lose his beloved kingdom once again.

…

Meanwhile, at the Forge, more specifically in the Hall of Enlightenment (where the battle against Gaul took place), Tecna and Timmy were helping Hagen to repair all the damage the battle against the lich caused. For this task, Tecna built a few robots that would act as repairmen. Aside from that, the robot guards also had to be completely rebuilt.

"Hagen, did you design these robots?" asked Tecna, while she used her magic to assemble their pieces together.

"You can bet on it, lass," the old blacksmith said proudly. "Although I can see in your face that you're not very impressed."

"Oh no no no! They're really a master's work. You did a good job on them."

"There's no need to suck up to me, lass. I'm sure that you found several things wrong with them, didn't you? "

"Well..." Tecna stammered as she bit her lips. "They're a bit obsolete. Besides, their armament is quite limited and the programming quite simple. If you allowed me, I could make some improvements."

"Of course, go ahead. You already proved your worth. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to check if the Mechanical Brain has suffered any damage from the fight," the old blacksmith said, leaving Tecna and Timmy alone.

"So, what are the improvements you plan to do on the robotic guards?" Timmy asked.

"I have some ideas, but I need to think about them a bit more," Tecna replied. "Or maybe I'll redesign them completely. Hagen built them twenty years ago, and they're pretty obsolete."

"Maybe you could do something like that big guy over there," Timmy said, pointing to the robot he had used against Gaul the night before.

"That monstrosity? Oh come on you can't be serious," Tecna said, shaking her head. "I mean, I got the design from a video game, since I was in a rush. It's too big, has too many vulnerable spots, and needs a pilot. If you give me a day, I can come up with twenty designs a thousand times better."

"I think it's pretty cool. Besides, you could fix all the weaknesses you pointed out easily," Timmy replied. "And I think that having to be piloted is fine."

"Don't you think an AI is better?" asked Tecna, raising an eyebrow.

"Depending on the robot," Timmy said. "A robot that does domestic chores, or construction tasks it's okay. A war robot is entirely different. There are decisions that can't be trusted to a machine."

"But if it's piloted, it also puts in danger the life of the pilot, in many ways."

"Then we find a way to make it safer," Timmy said. "Do you know what it also needs? A name."

"And what do you have in mind? What do you plan to name this... thing?"

"The Tecnatron." Tecna couldn't help but snicker at Timmy's suggestion. "What, don't you like it?"

"I don't know if feel offended by naming that thing after me, or laugh at the silliness of the name. Seriously Timmy, can't you think in anything better?"

"Hey, I like it!" Timmy said in return. "And since you created it, I think that it's only fair."

"The _Prometheus_ is beautiful and elegant. Why you didn't name it after me then?"

"Well..." Timmy said, looking lost for a moment. "The Prometheus doesn't fire laser beams that send the undead back to the hell they belong in."

"You know Timmy... that was kind of touching," Tecna said, and giggled a little. "Still, I think the Tecnatron needs some enhancements."

"I knew you'll like it."

…

Meanwhile, Musa and Riven walked through the Capital City. The destruction caused by the masticore and Neyra was evident. Still, a night of setbacks wasn't enough to put down the spirit of Domino and its inhabitants, who were already working hard to reconstruct their beloved city.

"Boy, I've never imagined that the Man in Black and his cronies would dare to follow us here," Musa commented. "I always thought that this was a safe place."

"You only need to look back at history to see that it's not," Riven replied. "Although I believe that now the Ancestresses are gone, no force in the universe will be strong enough to bring this kingdom to its knees."

"That's tempting fate," Musa pointed out.

"You didn't let me finish," Riven said. "I was going to say especially that now we're here."

"I see that killing a giant monster really raised your spirit, didn't it?" Musa said half-jokingly, raising an eyebrow.

"It wasn't me who killed it. Brandon gave the killing blow."

"Are you being modest? Now, who are you and what you did with my boyfriend?" Musa said between chuckles.

"Hey, I can be modest! What kind of man do you take me for?" Riven said, pretending to be offended.

"I better not answer that," Musa said still smiling.

They kept walking. It was amazing to realize that the day before the capital city was so full of life and activity, while now half of its stores were under reconstruction and the other half were closed. Riven hands, buried inside his pants' pockets, noticed the small marble that he picked from the Forge several weeks ago. He hadn't dreamed of Maitlin since they departed Melody. Maybe he wouldn't have to hear her cryptic advice again.

"Hey Musa, can I ask you something?" Riven asked. Musa nodded, and Riven said. "What... what do you know about your mother?"

The question took Musa aback. He looked at her boyfriend with incredulous eyes.

"Sorry. If it's too painful to talk about her..."

"No, no, it's fine!" Musa replied. "It's just that... I didn't expect you to ask me about her. Since... well, you're never going to meet her."

"_If you only knew..."_

"Well, there isn't much to tell... she died when I was just six, so I don't have too many memories of her. Although the few memories I have of her are really warm and comforting."

"Really? Tell me some," Riven said.

"During stormy nights, I couldn't sleep. I was afraid of storms. My mother knew it, and every night like that, she sat on my bed, and sang me a song until I fell asleep. I still remember all the songs she used to sing to me, even if I fell asleep before she finished."

What Musa didn't know is that all of her mother's songs were infused with a sleep spell. Maitlin, like her daughter, was a fairy. However, she never went to any fairy school like Alfea nor developed her magical abilities. She had some superficial magic, but that was all.

"Do you... miss her?" Riven knew it was a stupid question the moment it came out of his mouth.

"Yes. A lot," Musa said with a long sigh. Then she added: "I keep her in my heart, but I'm not mourning her every minute. Life goes on."

Riven pulled his right hand out of his pocket. Between his fingers was the mysterious marble. He handed it to Musa.

"Do you still keep this thing?" Musa asked, looking at the marble. "I told you to..."

"Yes, yes, I know," Riven interrupted. "Just do me a favor. Tonight, keep this near you when you go to sleep. You'll understand everything."

"Riven, what are you up to? You're hiding something from me, I can see it! Come on, spill it! What is it?"

Riven sighed in defeat. Part of him told him not to say anything, but another part encouraged him to share his secret with Musa. He knew it would be hard, but he'd feel relieved afterward.

"I think I've found out what this little thing can do," Riven began. "You can talk with the dead."

"Are you kidding me?" Musa asked in disbelief. She looked at the marble, then back at Riven. "Really?"

"I swear," Riven said.

"Wait a minute... you gave me this so I could see my mother?" Musa asked in realization.

"Yes... did I do something wrong?"

"Riven, I appreciate your nice gesture, but... I don't think I want to," the fairy of music said, placing the marble back in Riven's hand.

"What? Why? I thought you-"

"Riven, I do miss my mother, but she's dead, and nothing's going to change that. Sometimes I wish I could see her, talk to her, but it would open old wounds that took a lot of time to heal."

"Oh, I see..." the specialist said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Don't feel bad, Riven. I know your intention was good," said Musa, smiling at him again. "So, how do you know it works?"

"I've been talking with a certain somebody who gave me information about our enemies. She predicted the attack on Melody, and that Gaul wasn't dead."

"She?" Musa asked.

"_Dammit,"_ Riven cursed. He didn't want to tell Musa that said person was her mother, at least not now. He had to say something. "A fairy from the Company of the Light. Maiera, I think it was her name."

Until that day, Riven thought that history of the Company of the Light was a useless subject. He felt lucky to still remember some of the names he had to memorize for it.

"Really? That's a good thing, I guess," Musa said. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I wasn't sure of what was going on."

"Alright. Guess that you know what you're doing..."

…

Meanwhile, on Eraklyon, the Man in Black was overseeing his forces, composed of Gaul's undead minions, dark fairies, and criminals and mercenaries bought with the gold of Eraklyon. An eclectic army, but not any less effective in the right hands.

"I told you you wouldn't get the Forge so easily," he said.

"Things would have been different if that pink haired fairy wasn't at the Forge. I hate to admit it, but I underestimated her," Gaul replied. "But not everything is lost. My backup plan was a success. I only need another distraction to gather the fruits of my work."

"I cannot take any more risks, lich. I will attack Domino, and kill every single person who stands between me and the Forge."

"Oh, it won't be necessary. Although an attack with all our forces will leave Domino extremely weakened," Gaul paused, at looked at his master closely. "I can see that you're really looking forward to this, aren't you?"

"I know that revenge can't be part of my plans, but I can't help it. The King and Queen of Domino humiliated me and made me spend the past twenty years in a block of ice," the Man in Black's voice distilled pure hate and rage, despite talking in a soft tone. "Yes, I seek to made them pay for all they did to me. But I won't kill them. No, I shall burn their beloved kingdom to ashes. Now that the Ancestresses and Valtor are gone, nobody 's left to tell me what to do."

"What is the plan? A direct attack on the capital until they surrender the Forge to us?" the lich asked.

"Yes, that's the basic plan. But I don't expect it to be easy. After what happened on Eraklyon, they won't be so confident, not when the home world of the Winx girls' leader is at risk. If we become overconfident we will underestimate our enemies, and our chances of losing will increase. I don't want any mistakes with this attack, Gaul. It's too important to fail."

"Don't worry, milord. You see, during the first attack, I had some dark fairies to explore the city and the castle in order to find any weak points in their defenses. This I what they told me."

The lich told his master about the dark fairies' scouting report. The Man in Black grinned behind his mask.

"Oh yes! That gives us a golden opportunity! Well thought of, lich."

"Do you plan to lead the attack?"

"Not at first. I'll let Kharel, Neyra and Mirage have some fun before I join the fight," the Man in Black replied. "Then your forces will attack when I tell you."

"Yes milord. I'll tell the kids about your orders." The Man in Black saw his undead lackey leaving the room.

The Man in Black turned to a window near him, and looked again at his precious army. Yes, the time for his revenge and his great victory will come soon. And he'll savor every second of it.

...

That night back on Domino, Flora, Aisha, Stella and Mirta decided to spend the next day camping in the woods near the capital city. Well, it was Aisha who suggested it. Flora loved the idea, and wanted to bring Mirta with them. However, Mirta had already told Stella that she would spend the day with her, so they pretty much dragged Stella with them (One of the few things Stella did remember is that she hated the outdoors).

After a long walk, they lit a bonfire, and sat around it.

"Boy, it's been so long since we did this..." Aisha said.

"Two years. Since we stayed in the Wildlands, remember?" Flora added.

"After we're done with this masked guy, I want to go to the Wildlands again with everybody, and spend a whole week there."

"But magic doesn't work in the Wildlands, does it?" Mirta asked, a bit confused. "Why do you want to go there?"

"Because it's a beautiful paradise. The air is so pure, and you don't need to be a nature fairy to feel the energy all the plants and animals radiate. It's like a tiny piece of heaven."

"At least this time the Trix won't attack us," Flora said.

"The Trix attacked you in the Wildlands?" Mirta asked.

"Yes, it's a long and fun story, we will tell you someday," Aisha said. "Although it didn't seem so funny at the time..."

"Why are you guys are so obsessed with camping? Last time we had a great time in the city. I don't know why we couldn't go there instead of coming to a dark forest with filthy beasts like that one" Stella said, and pointed to a small critter.

"That 'filthy beast' is just a squirrel," Aisha said, quirking her eyebrow. "Besides, after the mayhem from last night, I don't think it will be a nice place to go."

"Yes Stella. Forget about your materialistic world of fashion and shopping and enjoy nature," said Flora nonchalantly. Stella glared at her coldly, Flora didn't understand what happened until she realized her very, very poor choice of words. "Oh my! Sorry Stella! When I said forget- I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Stella said, a bit gruffly.

"Yeah, let's enjoy the moment. So have any of you gone camping before?"

"Yes, I used to go camping with Lucy on our home world when we were younger, since our town is near a forest." Mirta began. "We usually played a scavenger's hunt game, swam in the lake, and, during the night, Lucy told me stories. She was really good at it. Most of her stories scared me to death, and then I wasn't able to sleep. And I didn't let her sleep either because I keep bothering her every five minutes whenever I heard any small noise."

"Boy, I never thought that camping could be so terrifying," Aisha mused.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad! We had a great time together. It's not that Lucy told me those stories to scare me on purpose. She probably thought they were cool stories to pass the night."

"What about you Flora?" Aisha asked, turning back at the nature fairy. "Given where you are from..."

"Yeah, that's the reason why going camping isn't much of a novelty for me. It's like if I asked you how many times did you swim in the sea," Flora replied. "Not that I didn't enjoy every time I went."

A moment of silence. All of them watched the bonfire slowly burning the wood. Suddenly, Mirta got an idea.

"Hey, I just thought that this would be a great moment to try and restore Stella's memories."

"Really?" Stella asked.

"Of course! There's a lot of peace and tranquility, we're surrounded by nature, and this forest emits strong positive energy."

"It makes sense. Yes, it could work!" Flora said.

"Can we help?" Aisha asked.

"Sure!" Mirta said. "In fact, with you two helping me, the memory restoration will be more effective. "

"Hey, why didn't you ask for our help before?"

"Because at first, I thought that Stella's memories could be reawakened by simply rekindling the emotions tied to them. However, I realized that if people close to Stella channel their memories of her into her mind, she'll remember much faster."

"So... when do we start?" Stella asked.

"Right now," Mirta said. "Okay, now I want everybody to do as I say. Stella, I want you to look into the fire."

"Looking into the fire," Stella repeated as she fixed her eyes on the bonfire.

"And I want absolute silence."

"Oookay, absolute silence. Oh, yeah, keep my mouth shut."

"Look into the fire," Mirta continued. "Watch it dance. Feel how your mind and body slowly relaxes," Stella's eyes began to close, and the red haired girl picked something from her backpack. It was a plastic bag with a brown powder. She took a handful, and tossed it into the fire. "Now breathe in. Slow, deep breaths. Now, when you hear me snap my fingers, you'll fall asleep."

Mirta snapped her fingers, and Stella finally closed her eyes.

"Okay, she's almost ready. Flora, Aisha, I need you to think of your fondest memories of Stella while you channel your energy onto her."

While Flora had no troubles recalling her best memories of Stella, Aisha thought that maybe the spell would work better with Bloom instead of her, since the princess of Domino was closer to Stella than Aisha.+

"No, I have to do this. Stella is my friend, she's in need, and I have to help her. I know I can," Aisha thought. The memories she was recalling weren't just of Stella, but of the whole group, but maybe that would work just as well.

Using her empathic powers, Mirta gathered all the emotions Flora and Aisha were sending, and channeled them into Stella's mind. The hardest part was about to begin.

…

Stella opened her eyes, and found herself in the middle of space, surrounded by stars, planets and other celestial bodies. She was wearing her Enchantix clothes, although she didn't remember transforming.

"Stella?" a voice said.

The blonde turned around to see Mirta looking at her. She was also in her Enchantix form.

"Mirta? What is this?"

"This is an astral plane that I created inside your mind. It will help us recover your memories," Mirta said.

"Oh. So, if this is my mind... what are you doing here?"

"The last time we wanted to restore your memories things went out of control, so this time I'm going to be with you to make sure that everything goes well."

"I guess that in such place a little company isn't unwanted," Stella said, chuckling. "So, what do we do now?"

"Follow me, We will revive your past memories as we find them. Aisha and Flora are sending all their good memories they have of you, that will be of some help."

The two fairies traveled through the astral plane, visiting every planet they encountered. With each planet, Stella revived a memory: her first time at Alfea, how she met Bloom, how she met Brandon, how she achieved her Charmix, how she achieved her Enchantix...Mirta also decided that maybe they should visit some bad memories too, and Stella was forced to see again how her parents divorced, how she was almost expelled from Alfea (and the resulting heated discussion with her parents), how her father almost disowned her...

After several hours, Mirta decided to stop.

"Today we have made a lot of progress," Mirta said proudly. "And this time there haven't been any incidents. A few more sessions, and your memories will be almost completely restored."

"There's still another planet there," Stella said. "We could visit it."

"Alright, but it will be the last one, at least for today," Mirta replied. "Staying here too long can be dangerous."

"I'm sure it won't take long. Come on!" Stella said before flying towards the planet.

"Hey wait me! Don't go alone!" Mirta said, as she went after Stella. She then ntoiced something strange about the planet. "_It looks like Domino..."_

Upon arriving on the planet, the two fairies found themselves in the middle of a city. It was the capital of Domino.

"Are we on the real world?" Stella asked, a bit confused.

"No, we're still inside your mind," Mirta said, looking around. The city was eerily silent and empty. "Stella, does this remind you of something?"

Stella shrugged and shook her head.

"I don't like this. I better undo the spell," Mirta said before taking the lotus position, and closing her eyes. "This may take a while."

Suddenly, the two girls heard a ghostly moan that sent chills down their spines. Mirta opened her eyes, and looked at Stella with a worried expression. "What was that?"

"I...I don't know," Stella said, equally frightened. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH"

Both girls saw hordes of zombies coming out of the sewers under the streets. Dozens, hundreds, thousands. Moaning, dragging their feet, and fixing their dead eyes on the two girls while limping towards them.

"Mirta! Get us out of here! NOW!" Stella screamed.

"O-okay! I'm going to need you to cover me while I undo the spell!"

Stella hoped that her powers would work on an astral plane.

"Solar Beam!" Stella shouted before casting a beam of golden light at the zombies, which were turned into ashes upon contact.

Stella kept firing solar beams at the incoming wave of zombies. When it was obvious that this tactic wasn't going to work, she switched to the more powerful Supernova, an explosion of solar light that incinerated the zombies en masse. Still, Stella realized that she was overpowered. No matter how many zombies killed, more appeared.

"Mirta, are you done yet?" Stella pleaded.

"No! I need more time! Just a few more seconds!"

"Ugh, I don't have a few more seconds!"

Suddenly, ivy vines started to grow around the two fairies, forming a dome of wrapped vines that would act as a shield.

"Need some help?" Flora said, floating from above. Aisha was next to her.

"Flora! Aisha! How can you be here?" Stella asked, incredulous but immensely relieved.

"Mirta used our memories to augment her spell, so we can also enter this astral plane," Aisha explained. "We didn't know that we could do that. It was Mirta who summoned us. It looks like you were having some trouble."

"You have no idea," Stella said.

"Don't worry, maybe a horde of zombies is too much for a single Winx, but let's see how they do against three!" Flora said.

With the help of Aisha and Flora, Stella was able to drive the zombies away, and Mirta undid the spell successfully. The astral plane was swallowed by a white light, and the four girls found themselves again in the woods near the capital of Domino.


	31. What Most People Don't See on Domino

**Chapter 31: What Most People Don't See On Domino**

"You know, Domino may be the most beautiful, enchanting and stuff-like-that planet of the whole known universe," Marco began. "But its sewers smell as bad as any other."

Marco, along Mirta, Musa and Riven were exploring the sewers of Domino. Upon returning from their short trip to the woods, Mirta and Stella told the others about their journey through the latter's mind in order to awaken more memories. Everybody concluded that the city of Domino being infested with zombies may be a future vision.

"Remember that, when we were still in Alfea, we learned that some fairies (and even witches and wizards) were able to see the future," Flora reminded them.

Besides the half fairy and the paladin, they decided that Musa should also go, since her extremely sensitive ears could pick up any noise in the dark of the sewers. Riven tagged along as well, in case they faced some immune-to-magic enemy. Musa and Mirta were in their fairy forms, floating above the disgusting current of sewer water, unlike Riven and Marco who had to walk.

"Yeah, you would expect it to smell like roses, given all the hype this kingdom gets," Riven agreed.

"Oh, it's not so bad," Mirta said with a shrug. "The laboratories at Cloud Tower smelled even worse, especially after some failed experiment."

"I don't even want to know what kind of experiments they do at Cloud Tower," Musa said, shaking her head. "But I do agree. We could have used some gas masks."

The sewers of Domino proved to be a true labyrinth. Tecna installed a detailed map of the sewers on their badges, but they felt like they were going through the same corridors again and again. Sometimes they would hear a suspicious noise, but in the end it was only an oversized rat or other kind of nasty animal.

"I think that we're approaching something," Marco suddenly said. "I sense a great darkness."

"I think we all do," Riven said with a chuckle as he pinched his nose.

"Not that. There's something evil lurking over here," Marco said. He unsheathed his sword, and added: "Be careful."

The others nodded in unison, and Riven drew his two swords as well. They continued walking at a slower pace, and after fifteen minutes, Musa told them to stop.

"I heard something. That direction," Musa said, pointing to a nearby fork in the path.

"Are you sure?" Mirta asked.

"Completely."

At first they didn't hear anything, but soon they started to hear the splashing that came along with the sound of footsteps.

"I don't sense any emotions. Whatever's coming, it's not sentient," Mirta said.

"Marco and I will go first. Girls, cover us," Riven instructed. Everybody nodded.

They waited until they saw half a dozen of zombies limping their way through the sewer. Riven was ready to attack, until Musa grabbed his hand.

"Riven, no, wait."

"What?"

"It seems that they're going somewhere. We should follow them."

"Alright," Riven conceded. "But I'm sure that they won't be heading anywhere pretty."

"Shouldn't we tell the others that there are zombies under the Capital?" Mirta asked.

"Yes but not now. We should investigate more, and see what they're doing. It's obvious that they're up to something," said Marco, as he and the others cautiously followed the zombies.

"What are you thinking?" Riven asked.

"You see, in History class, I read of a war that took place many centuries ago about a very powerful and wealthy kingdom whose name isn't important, that had its capital surrounded by the tallest, thickest wall ever constructed. One day, several other nations, wanting to sack said kingdom, joined their armies and launched a massive attack. Despite the advantage in numbers, the defenses of the kingdom were too powerful. After a year of siege, the attackers had lost almost half their armies."

"Wow," said Musa in awe.

"Every new general tried a different tactic to overcome the city's defenses, and failed, until a new general decided to take a different approach," Marco continued. "You see the city main water supply came from a nearby river- "

"Oh, so they put a dam on the river, right?" Riven ventured to guess.

"They poisoned the river," Marco said, much the others' horror. "In two days, almost the whole population was dead. Said kingdom, which was so mighty and powerful, ceased to exist."

"Do you think that's going to happen? That the Man in Black plans to do something with the water of Domino?" asked Mirta, rather horrified.

"I wouldn't dismiss it," Marco said.

"You know, he doesn't seem to be the kind of guy who would resort to such nasty trick," Musa intervened.

"What do you mean?" Marco asked.

"Well, it's... the way he acts and talks. Whenever I saw him fighting, it's like he enjoys the fight. He also boasts about how he's a descendant of a race of mighty warrior conquerors and such and... well, to me, he's the kind of guy who will want to take something by brute force rather than being devious."

"What you say makes sense. Still, it would be foolish not to consider every possibility."

"Yeah, of course."

They continued walking for a long time. Riven lost patience a couple of times and wanted to slay the zombies, arguing that they weren't going anywhere. Until they finally arrived at their destination.

"Oh...my..." Mirta said, almost in a whisper, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Just look at this... how long has this been here?" Marco asked.

"Who knows," Riven said. "It's a good thing that we came down here to investigate. Come on, we have to tell the others."

Riven pulled out his badge, ready to share with the others the horror that laid below the magnificent capital city of Domino.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Royal Palace of Domino, King Oritel and Queen Miriam had gathered all the top ranking generals in the War Room. The Winx Club was also there (except Musa, Riven, Mirta and Marco, or the 'Sewer Squad', as Riven had called the group). Knowing that a full-scale invasion against the city was imminent, they were going to prepare the defenses.

"The reports of our explorers is conclusive," one of the generals, a big, bald man with a black mustache said. "There is a huge army heading to the capital of Domino. We believe it is the Man in Black's main force of attack."

"How many troops?" King Oritel asked.

"Our estimates vary between six thousand and ten thousand soldiers, your highness," another general, a woman of middle age and short red hair said. "That not counting the many beasts they bring with them, like those undead dragons that attacked Eraklyon."

"How about the city? Has it been evacuated already?" Queen Mariam interjected.

"Yes, your highness. All the civilians have been taken to safe shelters."

Many people in that room wondered if any place could be considered safe. Another general, a blond man of middle age, spoke.

"The main body of our army has been stationed in the capital city. A smaller group defends the Forge, and another one is here in the Royal Palace, to support the Royal Guard. The city, palace and Forge have been declared the main points of interests for the Man in Black. Also, the majority of our Dragon Knights patrol the skies and will engage any airborne enemy."

"Father, do we have enough forces to defend the city, the palace and the Forge?" Bloom asked Oritel.

"I hope so," Oritel replied.

"You 'hope' so?" Sky said. "If you're not sure, then we should call for reinforcements."

"No. This is a battle we have to win alone," Oritel replied.

"What? That's nonsense!" Brandon said, indignantly.

"Watch out your tongue, kid! You're talking to the King of Domino!" one of the generals, an old, thin man with white hair and beard said. Both him and the rest of the generals glared at the brown haired specialist.

Brandon had such a casual relationship with the king of his home world that he forgot the proper manner to talk to a monarch.

"Pardon me, your highness," Brandon said, in a humbler tone. "But I had a good reason to say that. If the time my home world was invaded we had the proper time to call for help to other nations, maybe it wouldn't be in the hands of that masked freak. I'm only advising you against making a fatal error."

"I know your intentions were good, Brandon, but there are some concepts you hadn't grasped yet," Oritel replied, trying to sound not too harsh. "This... Man in Black came out of nowhere recently, and terrorized the entire universe. Everybody fears him. They think that he's unstoppable. It even came to my knowledge that some kingdoms are willing to join him if that gives them security.

"Today, we are going to prove that this guy isn't invincible. That he isn't as strong as he claims to be. For centuries Domino has been a beacon of hope in the Magic Dimension, and after its restoration, said beacon shines again. However, the Man in Black casts a huge shadow over us, and said shadow threatens to extinguish that light forever. We could ask for reinforcements, yes, but what kind of message would send such action to the rest of the nations? That Domino, the most powerful Kingdom to ever exist, can't face this threat alone.

"Trust me, I'm not a prideful fool. If I was certain that the Man in Black's forces overpowered ours, I'd call for help without any doubt. I lost my beautiful kingdom once, and I won't lose it again. But after seeing the intelligence reports and the might of our army, I'm sure we can resist this invasion. And when the word that the Man in Black has suffered an humiliating defeat spreads, his illusion of all-powerful conqueror will vanish, and other kingdoms won't be so reluctant to fight him.

"And if everything else fails, we have you guys to save us, like you did so many times," Oritel said with a chuckle.

While Oritel and his generals kept discussing the best strategy for the defense of the city, Bloom approached Brandon.

"Brandon, you should trust my father a bit more. He knows what he's doing," Bloom said, in a whisper.

"I know, but I think that he's underestimating the Man in Black. I'm sure that he has some kind of ace up his sleeve."

"I'm with Brandon here. He should be more careful," Sky added.

"He _is_ careful," said Bloom. "It's not that he's going to blindly fight the Man in Black, that's why he summoned all his generals: to create the perfect defense strategy."

"One last bit of advice," Oritel's voice startled Bloom. "When the Man in Black appears – and trust me, he will appear – do not under any circumstances try to fight him. The Queen and I will deal with him."

…

Back the sewers, the Sewer Squad was horrified at their discovery: a huge army of undead, gathered under the capital city of Domino. There were a bunch of people dressed in black and purple robes, wielding staffs ; everybody recognized them as Gaul's acolytes. Gaul himself was there too, to the group's shock, but Mirta quickly pointed out that it was just a projection. The acolytes were talking to Gaul, and thanks to Musa's ultra sensitive ears, she could hear everything.

"Everything is ready, master," one of the acolytes said. "The underground army is ready to attack."

"Remember the plan, you won't give the attack order until I say so," the Lich replied. "In a few hours, we will launch a massive attack over the Capital City. When time is due, the first underground battalion will come out of the sewers, and thus we will trap the army of Domino between two fronts.

"It's imperative to take the city as fast as possible. Once that phase of the plan is done, the second battalion will attack the Royal Palace, also sneaking through the sewer system. Once the capital and the Royal palace is under our control, the army of Domino will be forced to retreat. And before they regroup and plan a counterattack, we will already took from the Forge and everything of value to our base at Eraklyon."

"Master, aren't we going to occupy the city?" one of the acolytes asked, perplexed.

"No. The goal of this attack is to capture the Forge, as well as any other treasure those guys may keep, and cripple the army of Domino. But let me assure you something: in due time, Domino will be burnt to ashes, as well as any other kingdom who opposes our goals."

Gaul and his acolytes kept talking about the details of the invasion, and everything was heard by Musa.

"Musa? What are they talking about?" Riven asked.

"They plan to launch an underground attack, in order to trap the Domino army between two fronts, and crush them. They also plan to use the sewers to break in the Royal Palace," Musa whispered.

"That's horrible!" Mirta said, with her eyes wide open. "If we don't tell the others about this nasty trick, the consequences will be terrible!"

"I'm on it," Riven said as he pulled out his badge. "What the hell? Network fail?"

"Guess that the badges don't work so well underground," Marco said with a shrug.

"Come on, let's go, we have to go back," Mirta urged.

They were about to leave just as silently as they arrived, but suddenly Musa cast a soundwave blast forwards. An undead assassin (or better said, its remains) became visible. However, Musa's attack was loud enough for everybody to hear.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Gaul roared.

"Spies! They were eavesdropping on us!" One of the acolytes said, pointing at the two fairies, specialist and paladin.

"KILL THEM, YOU IDIOTS! If they talk about our secret strategy, our plans will be seriously jeopardized! GET THEM! GET THEM AND KILL THEM!"

"Yes Master! Undead warriors, kill the spies! Seek and destroy!" one of the acolytes said, and was replied by the sound of the hundreds of skeletons and zombies marching.

"RUN!" Riven yelled.

…

Gaul, at the Man in Black's secret hideout in Domino, dispelled his astral projection in the Domino sewers, and left to meet his master. He found the Man in Black preparing his personal bonewyrm steed for the upcoming battle.

"Milord, may I speak with you?" the Lich asked.

"You carry bad news, don't you?" the Man in Black asked inquisitively.

"I'm afraid so, milord. Domino sent spies to our battalions stationed on the sewers. I'm afraid that they will know about our maneuver to take the city. We must bring forward the attack."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"To attack immediately."

…

After the briefing session ended, Bloom separated from the others, and went to a certain place to check something. That place was no other than the Royal Library of Domino.

Of course, it wasn't the original library where she and her friends recovered the Book of Fate a couple years ago. After the restoration of Domino, Oritel ordered for all the books (Book of Fate included) to be moved to a new library inside the Royal Palace. The old one was demolished, and the gigantic Roc was released.

In front of her, on a pedestal, lay the Book of Fate. After restoring her kingdom, she thought that she wouldn't have to use it again. But now a new evil threatened her home, and maybe the Book could give her the key to victory.

"Ah, Princess Bloom, nice to see you again," a kind voice said.

Bloom was startled to see the ghost of an old man with a monocle.

"Bartelby! Don't do that! You almost give me a heart attack!" Bloom replied, angered.

"I'm very sorry, milady," Bartelby apologized the best he could. "So, what brings you to the library? The Book of Fate, I presume?"

"You're right. I really need to see what the future holds for me, my family and my world."

"Are you sure you want to do that, princess? The Book certainly helped you in the past, but there are times when the future is better left unknown..."

"I'm pretty sure," Bloom said mustering all her determination, and opened the book to a random page.

As expected, all the pages were filled of letters (or runes, or pictograms, or hieroglyphs, Bloom really couldn't tell the difference) that didn't made any sense to her. But when the magic of the Book worked, those magic symbols merged, forming an image of a future event, an image that Bloom didn't like one bit: her parents, presumably dead, lying at the feet of the Man in Black, who was striking a victorious pose.

"No..." Bloom muttered. "No! No! This can't be!"

"Princess, please, calm down," Bartelby said softly.

"Calm down? The Book just showed me an image of my parents being killed by that monster, and you tell me to CALM DOWN?"

"Princess, what the Book shows isn't always true," Bartelby tried to explain to the enraged princess. "What you just saw was a possible future, one of the few that are most likely to happen."

"So... are you telling me that my parents won't die?" Bloom said as a new spark of hope ignited her heart. "Wait, you aren't telling me this because it's what I wanted to hear, are you?"

"Of course not, princess!" Bartelby now sounded offended. "I will never ever lie to any member of the Royal family!"

"Then why did the Book show me that? I thought that the Book only showed the future," Bloom asked.

"Bloom, the future is always in motion," said Bartelby. "In our lives, we all face situations when we have to make a choice. Depending of the choice, we can create that future or a different one."

"But that's just stupid! Presenting all the possibilities of a decision isn't the same as seeing the future!" Bloom shouted in frustration.

"It is. The Book's telling you that you're going to face a situation like that, and the fate of your friends, parents and kingdom will be the result of said decision."

"But... what I'm supposed to do?" Bloom asked. "What is the right decision?"

"I'm afraid no power in the universe has the answer to that," Bartelby said, shaking his head.

"But the Book helped me find my parents! Why it can't help me now?"

"You must understand that it was an entirely different situation. Your parents were trapped in Obsidian, and the book simply told you how to reach there and how to release them."

Bloom lowered her head, pensive. "This is too complicated..."

"It is," Bartelby said. "Clairvoyance is a dangerous art. Those who learn to see the future also need to interpret those visions properly. Misinterpret a vision may have horrid consequences."

Bloom closed the Book of Fate.

"Thanks for your help, Bartelby. I think I'll return once I'm better prepared."

"And I will be waiting for you, princess," the ghostly scribe said, as he saw Bloom leave the library.

…

Back in the sewers, the two fairies, specialist and paladin were running for their lives as a never-ending tide of undead warriors was after them. Riven was holding his badge in front of him while running, checking the nearest exit to the surface. After running for some time, they arrived at a fork.

"That way!" Riven yelled as he turned to the right. The others followed him. Unfortunately, there were many undead coming from the path they were about to take.

"Change of plans! Let's go to the left!" Musa suggested as she took the other path.

And, predictably, said path was also blocked by another horde of skeletons. Riven and Marco pulled out their swords, since a fight was now inevitable. A bunch of skeletons attacked the group, but Riven and Marco dispatched them easily. However, that didn't discourage the remaining skeletons to attack them as well.

"If we stay here any longer, they'll end up overwhelming us!" Riven said as he engaged more undeads.

"I think that the girls can clear the way for the nearest exit, while we keep a tight rein on the undead," Marco suggested.

"Good idea! Now where is the nearest exit?" Mirta asked.

"That way!" Riven said, pointing the tunnel they weren't able to take.

"Alright. Musa, I think that your soundwaves will do fine. I'll empower you, okay? "

"Sure, go ahead!" the fairy of music said.

Mirta placed her hand on Musa's back, and said: "Vigorous Heart!"

Musa's body started to glow with a pinkish red light as her magical power dramatically increased. She looked at the undead mass, and grinned.

"You guys have no idea what I have in store for you! VOICE OF THE GODDESS!"

Musa cast an incredibly powerful sonic blast that shattered the undead in front of her to bone shards, and heavily damaged those who were near the destructive spell.

"Now, go!" Riven yelled.

The group ran (or in the case of the fairies, flew) as fast as they could before another group of undead appeared. However, when they did, Musa blew them up with her boosted magic powers. Still, Musa heard numerous enemies behind them.

"Riven, are we near that exit?" Marco asked.

"Yes! It's in the room at the end of this path!" Riven said with high hopes.

But said hopes were crushed when, upon arriving, they saw that plenty of undead occupied the room. Aside from the regular skeletons, there was also a gigantic skeleton wielding a sledgehammer, and two of Gaul's masked acolytes. Behind the large group, there was a steel ladder that lead to the surface.

"Dammit, we were so near..." Musa groaned in disgust.

"Indeed you were. I must admit, none of us expected King Oritel to send people to patrol the sewers. It was a very clever move, but ineffective. These sewers will be your tomb," one of the acolytes said.

"Kill them!" the other acolyte said, prompting the undead warriors to charge.

"This will stop the remaining undead from attacking us from behind," Mirta said before creating an illusion of a wall on the entrance of the tunnel they just left.

The battle began. Musa cast a sonic waves at the undead. It wasn't as powerful as the ones before, since she already used up Mirta's power boost, but was good enough to scatter the undead so Riven and Marco could deal with them easier.

"Maybe you do well against a bunch of stupid skeletons, but you have no chance against us! Gaul himself trained us in the arts of necromancy!" one of the acolytes boasted.

"Surprise me, than," Musa taunted.

"You're so going to regret those words, puny fairy. Soul Ensnare!"

A dark purple aura enveloped Musa completely. The fairy of music, however, didn't feel anything.

"That's it? I'm not impressed. Sonic Blast!" Musa said, ready to knock her foe out. However, nothing happened. "Sonic Blast! Sonic Blast! Hey what's going on?"

"Dark Thunder!" the other acolyte said, blasting Musa with a beam of dark energy, and fell to the floor, which was filled with disgusting green water.

"Impressed now?" the first acolyte said.

"Musa!" Riven forget about the skeletons he was fighting and rushed to help his girlfriend. "Musa, are you okay?"

"Y-yes...the tricks of those second class magicians barely hurt me..." Musa said, coughing. "But I can't cast spells..."

"I know what to do. Mirta! Get over here and use your fairy dust on Musa! I'll cover you!"

Mirta nodded, and came to the aid of the fairy of music. Meanwhile, Riven faced the two necromancers.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my girlfriend!" Riven yelled at them.

"Ohhhhh, look at me, I'm sooooo scared!" the acolyte said in a mocking tone. "Let's teach this kid a lesson!" the necromancer raised his right hand, and cast a red lightning bolt at Riven.

The specialist simply waved one of his longswords to deflect the attack, which crashed against the ground, splashing everybody with sewer water.

"That's the best you have?" Riven asked mockingly.

"You'll see! Shadow Strike!" the other necromancer yelled.

A shadow appeared under the necromancer, and quickly crawled its way to Riven. When it was near him, it generated a body, which had a vaguely humanoid form. In one of his hands was holding a knife. The knife descended upon Riven's chest, but the maroon haired specialist parried the blow, and with the other sword slashed the shadow monster in half. The two halves dissolved into nothingness as they let out a screeching wail.

"My turn!" Riven said as he dashed towards the necromancers, and engaged them in direct fight. Before doing so, he looked back, and saw that Mirta already used her fairy dust to remove the evil enchantment that stopped Musa from using her magic.

"Hey, some help over here would be appreciated!" Marco said, who was fighting (or better said, trying to survive) against the skeletal giant.

The huge undead warrior was almost twice as tall as the young paladin, and twice as broad. He carried a huge sledgehammer which was as big as Marco himself, which caused small quakes whenever it hit the ground. The giant, due to its size, moved quite slowly, something that Marco used to his advantage.

"Marco, get over here! We will face them together!" Musa said.

Marco nodded, and ran away from the giant the moment its hammer crashed against the floor again, causing a small tremor. The giant, of course, went after the paladin.

"Let's attack all together!" Musa suggested. "Sonic Blast!"

"Crimson Beam!" Mirta said, casting a red beam of energy.

The two attacks crashed against the giant, causing great damage. Riven pulled out several shurikens and tossed them at the giant, which stuck to its armor with no effect. Then the shurikens exploded, hurling the giant against a wall, and splashing everybody with sewer water.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeewww!" Musa said in disgust as she shook the water from her clothes and hair.

"After this, I don't think I'm going to think of Domino the same way," Mirta said, doing the same as Musa.

"Okay, that giant monster is out; only the two necromancers left," Marco said.

"Come on, why don't you surrender and save yourselves a painful beating?" Riven said.

"Like hell! Death Touch!" one of the necromancers said. Before casting a green, skull shaped bolt of energy at riven, who dodged it gracefully.

Except that the attack wasn't aimed at the specialist, but the giant skeleton, which was restored to its unholy glory, and raised to fight again.

"It doesn't matter how many times you kill Kuarl, we can revive him!" one of the necromancers boasted.

"Then we will take care of you first," Riven said smugly, waiting for his foes to realize their mistake.

"With Kuarl at our side, you have no chance! Nightmare Swarm!" A black sphere appeared between the hands of the necromancer, and dozens of bats came from it, and in no time surrounded the group of four.

"Spiral Shield!" Mirta shouted, and summoned three energy orbs that spun around herself and her friends in fast motion, killing the bats.

However, when the bats disappeared and had a clear filed vision again, all they could see was the giant (whose name was Kuarl, apparently) dropping its hammer at them. Marco was fast enough to stand between the hammer and the others, and cast a protective shield of golden light. The impact was strong enough to overcome the paladin's shield, but the shield absorbed most of the damage.

"Riven, now!" Musa urged.

Taking advantage of the Kuarl's temporal vulnerability, Riven leaped forward and sliced the undead giant's arms. Meanwhile, Marco's fist started to glow with a golden light as it charged with energy, until the paladin punched the giant in the chest, hurling him against the necromancers, who were able to avoid the avalanche of bones and metal shards.

"Quickly, let's revive Kuarl again!" one of the necromancers said.

"_Oh no, you won't," _Mirta thought as she prepared her next move. "Behold the might of the Dragon Fire!"

"What? That girls has the power of the Dragon Fire too?"

To everybody's astonishment, Mirta was covered by orange flames as she summoned several serpentine dragons made of fire that roared menacingly. The dragons surrounded the two acolytes, who were too shocked to revive his undead lackey. Taking advantage of the necromancers' shock, Riven and Marco dashed forward, and knocked them out.

"Nice trick Mirta. It took me some time to realize it was an illusion," Musa said to her fellow fairy.

"People tend to underestimate the power of illusions," Mirta said with a shy grin. "And the power of emotions. I could feel that they were very relieved that they didn't have to fight against the Fairy of the Dragon Fire."

"The power of life and creation, which is the opposite of the power of death. Makes sense," Marco reasoned.

"Come on, let's get the hell out of here," Musa said, as she exited the sewers.

Riven take one last look at the defeated giant.

"Kuarl? _Seriously?_" Riven asked, and wondered if all necromancers named all the corpses they revived.

…

Meanwhile, not far from there, the Man in Black had gathered most of his forces to launch a massive attack over the Capital City of Domino. Gaul walked (or better said floated) to him.

"Everything's ready, milord. The troops await your orders," the Lich said.

The Man in Black grinned, as if delighting what it was about to happen. He turned to his minions, and shouted:

"Today, Domino will fall, this time permanently! Come on, my warriors, march into the city! Seek and destroy! Do not leave any fairy alive!"

His army roared in return, and charged against the Capital City of Domino.

**...**

**And thus, the invasion of Domino begins! Will our heroes succeed at defending Bloom's homeworld, or will Domino share the same fate as Eraklyon? Find out in the next chapter!  
**


	32. Domino Invaded

**Chapter 32: Domino Invaded**

"Fresh air, finally!"

After their trip to the sewers, the Sewer Squad was again on the surface of Domino in the middle of its Capital City. They saw many infantry soldiers patrolling the empty streets, and sometimes the sun was blocked by the figure of a dragon, watching from the skies.

"Hey, you!" a solider called to them. "Who are you? What were you doing in the sewers?" the soldier said in a demanding tone.

"Hey, relax man, we're some of the good guys," Riven said, almost in protest.

"We're part of a special team that was sent to explore the sewers," Musa explained.

"And we have important information! There's a huge army of undead underground!" Mirta said, a bit nervous.

The solder looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"Do you have proofs?" the solider said.

Without muttering another word, Marco pulled out his badge. After fiddling a bit with the controls, the badge reproduced a holographic recording of Gaul talking with his acolytes. Even if the image was blurry and the sound quality was far from excellent, it was still understandable.

"I can't believe it..." the solider said, completely taken aback. "The fact that they were able to place such an attack force below us and nobody noticed..."

"Here they come!" another voice yelled.

"Who's coming?" asked Marco.

"Our enemy's attack force. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must transmit to my superiors what you've told me. Meanwhile, you should take shelter," the solder said before leaving.

"It seems that the real party is about to begin. Hopefully the others will join us soon," Riven said.

…

Back in the Royal Palace of Domino, The Winx and Specialists were anxiously waiting for the battle to start.

"Man, I hate this," Brandon suddenly said.

"Hate what?" Sky asked.

"The wait before a big battle," Brandon replied. "Just like that time, near the end of the first year at Red Fountain, when we were about to defend Alfea from the Trix and their army of monsters."

"Yes, I remember that," Tecna joined the conversation. "It may be weird, but I felt... kind of relieved when I saw the Trix's army in the horizon."

"Of course it's not, Tecna" Helia intervened. "It's perfectly normal to be distressed moments before a big battle is about to happen."

"You know, I met a lot of guys at Red Fountain that wanted to be renowned heroes. Well, I must admit that was the reason I joined too," Timmy said a bit sheepishly. "By the end of the year, some of them left, saying that they wanted to do something else with their lives."

"Well, when I enrolled at Alfea, I thought that my life as a fairy would be more peaceful," Flora said.

"Fairies are protectresses of the universe. Fighting is inevitable. I thought that, after all these years, you'd know that already," Bloom said in a slightly reprimanding tone. "And now we have a world to protect."

"Hey Bloom, did you ask your parents how they defeated the Man in Black?" Aisha asked. "I mean, they already told us a little, but if we heard the whole story, maybe we can defeat him. Besides, they were just two, and we're fourteen!"

"Do you think we can beat the Man in Black by merely outnumbering him?" Bloom asked doubtfully. "We already tried that on Eraklyon, and he mopped the floor with us."

"Yes, but we'd never fought him before," Tecna intervened. "And remember that, at some point, he separated us. Besides, after all these months of fights and training with Arthaia, we're stronger and more experienced. No, there is no being in the universe powerful enough to beat seven Enchantix fairies."

"You look really confident," Stella mentioned.

"I'd like to see if you're that confident when you're face to face with that guy," Bloom said.

"Do I need to remind you that, a few days ago, I had to fight against the Lich with just Timmy and Hagen as backup?" Tecna said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hey girls, relax!" Sky intervened before the discussion could escalate into something nastier.

"Yeah, you should save all that energy for the battle," Helia advised.

"Sorry... it's this waiting... it's taking a toll on me... and the idea that the safety of my homeworld is at risk..." Bloom said in an apologetic tone.

"Hey, what's that?" Aisha said, not involved in the conversation until that moment, while looking through a window.

Everybody went to check what Aisha was looking at, and after a minute they realized it was the Man in Black's army, about to attack the capital city.

Nabu was the only one who didn't look. As the battle drew close, he couldn't help but be afraid of Gaul's prediction coming true...and what he could to change the doomed future of his beloved.

…

The Winx Club joined the fight shortly before the army composed of undead, criminals released from Omega and mercenaries invaded the city and engaged in combat with the forces of Domino, composed mostly by foot soldiers, some wizards and witches, and backed up by a division of aliraptor* cavalry, as well as monocrons*. The monocrons each carried a huge cannon on their back, which fired fireballs incessantly at the incoming enemy. Meanwhile, in the skies, an army of fairies and a bunch of dragon riders fought the wraiths and the dreaded bonewyrms, the undead dragons raised by Gaul.

(A/N: Read chapter 28 for the description of these beasts)

Bloom, as well as the rest of the Winx (sans Musa and Mirta), flew over the huge battle that was taking place in the capital city.

"This doesn't look good. There are far more undead that I thought," Bloom said.

"And that not even counting those in the sewers," Tecna said. "The intelligence reports were wrong. There are almost twice as undead as they said!"

"This doesn't make any sense. There's something I don't get. This has to be some kind of trick," Flora said. "I know! I'll go to the forest, and talk with the plants. Maybe they can tell me what's going on."

"Alright Flora, but please hurry!" Bloom said as the fairy of nature left the group.

"Look over there!" Tecna pointed to a group of battling soldiers. "Those men are having trouble with the undead, let's help them!"

The remaining fairies nodded in agreement, and descended. The group of soldiers were trying to hold a massive division of skeletons from invading a street. Some of them looked to be injured, since they were either lying on the ground or leaning on others. Bloom cast a fireball from above at the undead, which destroyed many of them, and left the rest dazed and confused.

"Princess Bloom! We're so happy to see you!" one of the soldiers said in joy.

"Bloom, you should take care of the injured, while we deal with the remaining skeletons," Aisha suggested. Bloom nodded and started to heal the wounded soldiers. "Stella, undead are weak to sunlight, your attacks will harm them the most."

"Alright, leave them to me then," Stella said with a wink as she turned her ring into a scepter. "Solar Tide!" Stella waved her scepter, releasing a wave of light that burned the skeleton army upon touching them. "How about that?"

However, Stella's victory was short lived, since an equally large group of skeletons appeared to replace the one Stella wiped out.

"Uh... I don't think I can beat them alone. Care to help me?" The blond fairy told her friends.

"Sure thing," Aisha said, stepping forward. "Morphix Wall!"

Aisha created a pink wall that blocked the skeletons and ghouls from advancing. The undead, however, weren't going to accept that their advance was stopped so easily, and they began to hit and bang Aisha's shield savagely.

"I've never seen the undead like this. They fight with vicious force," Tecna commented, watching the undead tearing down Aisha's wall. "It doesn't make any sense! They are on Domino, a strong nexus of positive energy, and in daytime, no less!"

The undead finally overcame the wall of morphix, and were going to attack the fairies and the soldiers.

"Electric Storm!" Tecna shouted, releasing bolts of green lightning, frying the attacking ghouls. However, it didn't stop the almost never ending tide of undead from advancing.

"They're uncontainable! We need to get out of here now!" said Aisha, as she fired morphix bolts at the undead. "Bloom, are you done healing yet?"

"Yes," Bloom said right after healing the last wounded solider.

"We need to fall back. If we fight alongside the main body of the army, we will have better chances than fighting in small squads," one of the soldiers suggested.

"But that would mean to leave some parts of the city unprotected!" another soldier objected.

"I think we don't have a choice," Bloom said with a bit of sadness. "Stella, take us to a safer place!"

Stella raised her scepter, and everybody was enveloped by a bright light. When the light disappeared, the Winx and the soldiers were gone, and the army of undead were free to further their advance.

…

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Sky and Brandon were fighting against, you guessed it, more undead, along many other Domino soldiers and a couple of Domino fairies.

"Man, how long have we been fighting? No matter how many undead we kill, they keep coming!" Brandon said as he smashed a skeleton with his hammer.

"I don't know, but sooner or later, they've go to run out of undead," Sky mentioned. "Unless the destroyed skeletons somehow manage to rebuild themselves."

Sky spent some seconds staring at the remains of a skeleton he just destroyed, but to his relief it stayed in the ground motionless.

Suddenly, they heard a chilling, inhuman roar that they knew too well. Emerging from the undead tide, tossing skeletons aside, a huge black knight wielding a sword shaped like a butcher knife appeared.

"Oh no, not THOSE GUYS AGAIN!" Sky yelled in frustration.

"Guess that the Man in Black is sending everything he has," Brandon commented as he was about to face the metallic monster. "The Thundergod managed to destroy that masticore, so maybe it can lay some damage on those guys."

Lifting the mighty hammer over his head with both hands, Brandon charged at the terrifying black knight, and dropped his weapon on the enemy. The moment the hammer impacted the black knight was shattered into a hundred pieces of rock and iron. The specialists took some moments to process what had happened.

"Cool!" Brandon said as he stared at his weapon, grinning in amazement.

Suddenly, both specialists were blasted away by a green fireball. They immediately spotted the source of the attack: a big rock golem, with threads of green lava across his body that ressembled veins. There was a small vulcan on its back, which made it to walk with a stoop.

"What a sight. Something new," Sky casually commented before charging against the vulcan golem.

The golem cast his hands forward, shooting green fireballs from a hole on the palms. Sky swung his sword, deflecting the fireballs, or simply dodging them until he was close enough to the rock and fire creature to slice it to pieces. It wasn't such a wise move, since the golem was as strong and powerful as its size suggested. Before the exiled King could attack, the rock beast slammed the ground with both fists, creating a small tremor that made Sky to fall off his feet. Losing no time, the golem attempted to crush Sky under his feet. Sky continuously rolled around to avoid being trampled.

"Brandon! I need some help over here!" Sky called.

"Hold on! I'll be with you in a second!" Brandon said after smashing a zombie.

The brown haired specialist charged at the lava monster with his hammer, ready to shatter it like he did before. However, the golem also proved to be more intelligent, as it grabbed the Thundergod by its handle before it could land a hit. Brandon could feel the overwhelming strength of the stone monster as they struggled for the control of the hammer.

However, the lava golem had forgotten about Sky, and that would prove to be a fatal error. The exiled King of Eraklyon immediately stood up, jumped and sliced off the creature's head. The golem crumbled into smaller rocks and a puddle of green magma that quickly disppeared.

"Good one, Sky," Brandon praised.

"This sword is incredible," Sky said, admiring his new weapon. "It cut it through stone and doesn't even have a nick!"

All of sudden, the sky blackened. Both specialists looked upwards, and saw a bonewyrm diving at them. The undead dragon opened its mouth, and released a blaze of blue fire. Both king and squire thought that it was their end, but they found themselves completely unharmed, inside a bubble of golden light.

"You guys okay?" Marco asked, as he undid the shield.

"Yes, man, thank you. One second later, and there would be nothing left of us but charred bones," Sky said.

"Yeah and- hey, what's that awful smell?" Brandon asked.

"...I'd like you to see how would you smell after spending some hours in the sewers," Marco replied.

Several skeletons charged at the paladin. However, he simply raised his sword, which started to glow with a golden light, and made swift horizontal slash.

"Echo Slash!" Marco yelled, releasing a crescent shaped blast of golden energy, destroying the undead. However, more skeletons kept coming. "I didn't expect there to be this many!"

...

Meanwhile, on another side of the invaded city, Mirta and Musa were helping the soldiers fight the undead.

"Arthaia didn't prepare us for this!" Musa said as she blasted some zombies away with her soundwaves. "Gaul is more powerful than I thought if he's able to command such a huge army!"

Mirta was about to reply, but suddenly something clicked inside her. "Maybe he isn't."

"Uh? What do you mean?" Musa asked.

"Necromancers can control a limited number of undead, based on his skill and power. However, it's obvious that there is nobody powerful enough, not even the Ancient Witches, to control such huge numbers of zombies, which means..."

"...that there are more necromancers besides Gaul pulling the strings of their zombie puppets!" Musa said in realization.

"So if we find the necromancers and take care of them, all the undead will go back to being motionless corpses!"

"Yes, but there's a problem: how are we going to find and neutralize the necromancers in the middle of the battle? Even with our help, the army of Domino barely can repel the attack."

"I think I can remedy that," Mirta said as she landed and sat down. "I need you to protect me while I use this spell, since I'll be vulnerable."

"Alright, just leave it in my hands!" Musa said before casting a protective bubble around the half fairy.

Mirta closed her eyes, and gathered all her power. She also used Arthaia's technique to draw power from her home world, since she was going to need it. Then she released her spell: invisible waves of magic energy traveled through the battleground, touching every living being. The soldiers and fairies that were little by little giving up any hope of winning the battle felt a boost of energy that renewed their bravery and morale, making them to fight with a new strength. Meanwhile, the necromancers who were controlling the undead from the shadows felt fear and despair, obstructing their connection to their undead lackeys.

Musa saw in awe how the tide of the battle turned around. The Domino Army started to regain all the ground lost to the undead army, since the skeletons and zombies started to fight in a more clumsy and unorganized way.

"Mirta, I don't know what are you doing, but keep doing it!" the fairy of Music said.

…

Bloom, Stella, Tecna and Aisha were fighting among the Domino army in order to recover the lost ground to the army of undead. Like everybody else, the four Winx noticed that the undead were fighting more poorly now, while they felt like they could take on an entire army by themselves.

"Keep fighting girls! Sooner or later, they will run out of skeletons!" Bloom rallied her friends.

Suddenly, Bloom's badge started to beep. Both she and the other three Winx took a break from battle when they saw it was Flora.

"Bloom?" The fairy of nature said.

"Flora, we almost forgot about you! Did you find something?" Bloom asked.

"Actually, yes. I located a small outpost, although it's strongly guarded. Undead constantly come from inside."

"There must be a portal there that connects to Eraklyon or wherever they store the main body of their army," Tecna guessed.

"Well, we know what to do next, right?" Aisha asked.

"Yes, in order to keep the Man in Black's army out of reinforcements, that outpost must be destroyed," Bloom said. "Stella, Flora and I will do it. Tecna, Aisha, stay here and help the army to hold the enemy."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you," Flora said before ending the transmission.

"Don't worry Bloom, leave it to us," Aisha said as Bloom and Stella flew away.

…

Meanwhile, in the Man in Black's hideout on Domino, he was watching the entire battle through a crystall ball. His four loyal minions are watching it too.

"I don't like it," Mirage said. "This isn't going as we planned."

"Milord, I found out that the Domino Army is sealing the sewers. Our initial strategy isn't going to work," Gaul said, fearing his master's reply.

The Man in Black stood silent.

"I'm receiving another report right now," the Lich continued. "They saw the Winx lurking near the outpost that guards the portal to Eraklyon."

"The garrison stationed there won't stand a chance against the Winx. That portal must stay operative if we want to defeat the Domino army. How many Winx did you see?"

"One, milord. The Fairy of Nature. But I'm sure she won't attack the outpost by herself."

"Nothing our brave girls can't deal with," The Man in Black turned to the two witches. "Neyra! Mirage! Go to the outpost and defend it at all costs!"

Both witches bowed before him as a sign of obedience, and left to carry out their task.

"Fortunately, there's still another surprise those idiots aren't expecting," the masked Man said. "Kharel, take a bonewyrm and launch an aerial attack over the Domino Royal Castle. It's about time to put the Banshees in action."

"What about me, milord?" the Lich asked.

"I want you to stay here and command the undead forces. For some reason, they're doing rather poorly."

"There's something that's blocking my acolytes from controlling the undead as well as they should. I will work on it."

"Good," the Man in Black said. "I think it's about time I joined the fight too."

…

The outpost was a one floor structure, obviously built in very little time, but provided with good fortification. Still, the doors were blasted to pieces by Bloom's dragon fire. The three fairies entered the building, guarded by a bunch of undead, a couple of necromancers and Omega Dimension criminals that were easily dispatched.

"The portal must be this way," Bloom said as she flew through the only corridor.

However, when Bloom reached the next room, she was hurled back by a powerful fireball. Flora and Stella saw Mirage and Neyra standing in front of them.

"Get out of our way, or else!" Stella said angrily.

"Or else what, blondie?" Neyra asked.

"How about beating you up like so many times before?" Flora remarked.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Mirage said. "I see that you didn't bring the Zenithian fairy with you. You won't live to regret that mistake."

After healing herself, Bloom stood up again and floated towards the two witches.

"No, you made a mistake. The mistake of attacking a dragon in his own lair!" Bloom said as she dashed at the witches, ready for attack.

…

Gaul took little time to discover that Mirta was turning the tide of the battle by channeling a spell that increased the morale of their allies while disrupting the necromancer's control of the undead. The Lich told his acolytes to direct most of the troops towards Mirta's position. Musa noticed this since the waves of undead that came to kill the half fairy started to increase.

"Dammit, this is getting more dangerous by the moment," Musa said as she blasted undead away right and left. When there were far too many skeletons to deal with, she decided to cast a shield around herself and Mirta, and activated the help signal of her badge. The undead weren't going to give up so easily, and started to beat the shield relentlessly. Just when the shield was completely destroyed, several shurikens appeared aout of nowhere and beheaded a bunch of skeletons, followed by several blasts of energy of different colors.

"Did you miss me?" Riven said with a smirk as she walked up to Musa.

"Riven! I'm so happy to see you!" the fairy of music beamed. "I almost lost any hope that somebody would help us."

"Sorry babe, but I picked some people on my way. You know, as reiforcements," Riven said as Tecna, Aisha, Timmy, Helia and Nabu appeared.

At that moment, Mirta stood up.

"Mirta? What are you doing?" Musa asked.

"This spell is very energy consuming, more if you use it for a long time like I did," the half witch conjured a purple potion, and drank its contents. "I'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Don't worry. You don't have to strain yourself any more, Mirta. You did a great job here," Musa said. Mirta blushed at the compliment.

Everybody was about to resume the fight when they realized that Timmy was looking into the sky.

"Timmy? Did you see something?" Tecna asked.

Timmy pulled a pair of binoculars, which gave him a better view of what was coming from above.

"Um, remember that super dark fairy we fought on Melody?" Timmy asked.

"The Banshee. What about it?"

"There are like, dozens of them coming here."

The army of Banshees fell upon the army of Domino like a swarm, engaging in a fight with both the air and the ground forces, making the battle to go in the Man in Black's way again.

"Come on girls. We already proved that a bunch of fake fairies have nothing on us, and we will do it again!" Musa rallied her fellow fairies.

Suddenly, Riven saw something besides the Banshees, and dived in front of Musa, blocking a blue colored beam that was aimed for her.

"Riven! Are you okay?" Musa asked, both worried and confused for what had happened.

"Y-yeah. That thing can't harm me," Riven replied as he stood up.

"You're fast, specialist," Kharel said as he flew over them, riding a bonewyrm. "But you won't be able to act as human shields forever. Not from _this_."

The bonewyrm opened its jaws, releasing a blaze of blue fire that forced the group to scatter.

"Come on girls! Are you too scared to face me without the protection of your big tough men?" Kharel said.

"Oh, you're so going to eat those words!" Aisha said in anger before Nabu grabbed her by the arm.

"Aisha, no! It's what he wants! Don't follow his game!" Nabu pleaded.

"No Nabu, making me hiding behind you it's what he wants," Aisha replied. Such an answer took the wizard aback.

"Come again?"

"The Man in Black fights with fear, and taught his minions to do so. This guy wants us to cower in fear whenever he appears, but I'm going to show him that neither I nor my friends are afraid of him. He talks tough, but I'm sure that deep inside he's a coward, like everybody who uses fear and terror as a mask."

Nabu was silent for a moment.

"Aisha, you're so brave that sometimes you scare me," the wizard replied.

"This is what I am," Aisha said with a shrug, as she smiled.

"Taka care."

"Don't worry, I will."

And so, Aisha and her two fellow fairies engaged the red-armored knight. Even though he trusted Aisha, Nabu couldn't help but feel that it was the last time he would see her.

…

Meanwhile, inside the Domino Royal Palace, in the War Room, Oritel, Mariam, Hagen and some of the generals were watching and overseeing the course of the battle through several screens.

"Your Highness, I've been informed that we've lost the Old Town to the undead. Soldiers are falling back," one of the generals said.

"The Trade District is doing well, but they demand reinforcements. There are some banshees that are giving serious trouble to our men," another officer said.

"Order a squad of dragon knights to go there," the King ordered.

"The Military Quarters is also under great pressure. There's a large force attacking there, and they have plenty of seriously wounded men."

"Order the Fairy Corps to move there. Order them to cast a protective shield and to start healing the injured. We cannot afford to lose that part of the city."

"The flame bombs have successfully eradicated the undead in the sewers, although there may be more heading to the palace," another officer said.

"Station several royals guards at any possible entrance then," the King said.

"Do you think we can do that, your majesty? The fight is getting dangerously close to the palace. We will need all of our men to defend it," the officer replied.

"And if they sneak into the palace, then it will be lost. No, I'm not going to take the risk," King Oritel said in a firm tone.

"Your Highness," Hagen spoke with a worried tone. "Apparently, the Man in Black has joined the fight."

Both Oritel and Mariam looked as if they were struck by a lightning.

"He... he's making his way to the palace. The troops... are following your instructions and fleeing from him. The few who did fight him had been crushed."

Oritel stood silent.

"Your highness, what are you going to do? Do you want me to escort you and the Queen to the safety bunker?" Hagen asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"No. It's time for my husband and I to join the fight and protect our people," Queen Mariam answered.

"Yes. Twenty years ago, the Company of the Light defeated the Ancient Witch Coven, bar some of its members. Our daughter defeated Valtor and Mandragora. Only this man is left. It's about time to finish the Coven off, once for all."

…

Meanwhile, back at the Man in Black's hideout, Gaul had already tracked the source of what was causing his necromancers so much trouble.

"First you stop Neyra and Mirage from taking the Forge, and now this. It's about time to take care of you, you foolish witch turned fairy," Gaul said as he looked at a projection of Mirta.

The Lich left the hideout, ready to join the battle. He also took with him a new weapon. Not a new spell or new kind of undead warrior. But he knew that it was something that it would either destroy Mirta... or exile her to the deepest darkness.

…

King Oritel and Queen Mariam, completely alone, walked towards the entrance of the Palace just like a condemned man walks to the gallows. Still, their faces were strangely serene.

"So... are you nervous?" Oritel asked Mariam.

"Should I be? I mean, we faced enemies far worse than this guy," the redheaded queen replied. Then she added. "Yes. I've only been this stressed before during our first date."

"It's good to see that even under such circumstances, you never lose your sense of humor. That's one of the things I like the most about you, dear."

"Sadly my wit won't keep us safe. It's been really a long time since I -since we- fought somebody."

"Remember: we defeated him once, and we can do it again. Just imagine him defeated, and the vision will come true. And if that's not enough, well... think in our daughter."

"Speaking of which... do you think that we're doing the right thing, by facing the Man in Black by ourselves?"

"There's no other option. We can't let anybody else to do it."

"Still, I can't help but remember Bloom's words... that we don't trust her power."

"We already talked about this, Mariam," Oritel said with slight exasperation. "We're not going to let Bloom face that monster again. Her bravery is admirable, but this is a fight not meant for her."

Mariam was already fighting a war, one that took place inside her. Part of her agreed with her husband; Bloom had to be kept away from the Man in Black at any cost. But the other part said that Bloom was already strong enough, both physically and emotionally, to deal with almost any enemy (she faced the Three Ancient Witches, for the Great Dragon's sake!). In her youth, Mariam was just like Bloom: blessed with a great power and talent to use it. This led the young Mariam to become extremely confident in her power and abilities, and thought that her teachers, far from helping her, were pulling her back, envious of her great gift. But now she could see the other side of the situation.

An explosion snapped Mariam back into the real world. She and her husband ran to the entrance. There was a hole in the place were the doors should be. Scattered around the floors were the bodies of some royal guards who were caught in the explosion. Some of them survived, though wounded, while others weren't so lucky.

Losing no time, Mariam used a spell that teleported the injured guards to a safe place.

"Oritel, Mariam," the Man in Black said. "It's been a really long time, hasn't it? But nobody would say it."

"What are you doing here?" Oritel asked.

"Oh, nothing in particular. Just passing by, and decided that I would pay you a visit. Maybe we could get a drink and talk about the old times. Gaul told me that you spent some time in Obsidian. Say, how are my former mistresses?" the Man in Black said. Then he looked back, and added: "Oh, and sorry for the door. Send me the bill."

Oritel slowly unsheathed his sword.

"They disappeared from this world forever. Just like you will. Coming here will be your last mistake."

The Man in Black laughed. "Oh, good old Oritel, always so brave and boastful and eager to fight, even against somebody way out of your league."

"He isn't going to fight alone!" Queen Mariam said.

"Oh Mariam, I almost forgot about you, how impolite I was!" the Man in Black said with fake concern. "Of course not. The Company of Light had always followed the tactics of the cowards. Maybe you two defeated me together, but on your own you wouldn't stand a chance."

"We know our limitations. And we're not going to risk everything that's precious to us for stupid pride!"

"And there's where you are wrong! Pride is what makes us to improve and push our limits! Pride is the force that moves the world! Pride is what made my people so great that even the Ancestresses feared them!" the Man in Black shouted before a brief pause. "Yes. Facing you one by one would be the easy way. My pride demands I fight you both together, just like the last time. That's the only way I'll become stronger. I'm taking a bigger risk, but that's the reason of why I will win!" he said in a calmer tone.

"The time for words had come and gone. It's about time to see who is right!" Oritel said as he and Mariam charged forwards.

The Man in Black activated his Hellfire Sword. "I've been looking for this moment so long. What you and your Company did to me for twenty years I'll do to you in twenty minutes!"

…

Back in the sky, Aisha, Tecna and Musa were fighting Kharel, riding a dreadful bonewrym. The red knight tried unsuccessfully to steal the girls' powers, but the fairies had already developed several ways to avoid the dreaded Sword of Bane. Sometimes, a Domino fairy would join the fight, only for the Winx to tell her to stay away, since the Winx are the only ones with the neccesary experience to deal with him. Instead, the Domino fairies were tasked to keep the Banshees from aiding Kharel.

"I must admit that I wasn't expecting you to face me openly without your big and strong men to protect you," Kharel said with a mad laugh. "Did my taunt hurt your pride?"

"You're overestimating your power," Tecna said while casting a green electric bolt at him. "Which isn't even yours. Without that sword, you're nothing."

"Just like you're nothing without your precious magic powers," Kharel said with a shrug, unfazed by Tecna's taunt.

"No, you're wrong! We're much more than flying spellcasters! Power itself it's nothing without somebody with enough inner strength to use it!" Musa said. "Sonic Blast!"

"Power is _everything_, little fairy. A well-sharpened sword will cut deeper than a jagged one, regardless of its wielder. I took that lesson to the core. Unfortunately, it's too late for you to learn it."

"Do you want to see true power? Then watch this!" Aisha said as she raised her arms and started to glow with an intense pink light that blinded Kharel.

A pink energy orb began to form above the Princess of Andross. The orb grew until it was twice Aisha's size.

"Now try to catch this! Heart of Andross!" Aisha said before tossing the giant energy orb at the knight.

Predictably, Kharel used the Sword of Bane to absorb the attack.

"Silly little fairy, when you will learn? You wasted a lot of-"

"He took the bait! Now it's the time to strike him down!" Aisha shouted.

Tecna and Musa flew to Aisha's side and prepared a convergence spell. Kharel realized that that last attack was meant to make him to use the Sword of Bane to absorb the attack, and thus the sword wasn't ready to absorb the incoming attack.

"Convergence: Sonic Storm!"

The Winx's attack took the shape of a huge, translucent pink fairy with glowing eyes that dived at Kharel, who was defenseless. However, the Winx forgot about the bonewyrm, who breathed a blaze of blue fire, both attacks clashing and creating a huge explosion. Musa and Tecna were shot into the sky, but Aisha was hurled against the window of one of the Royal Palace's towers, shattering it.

"Stupid little fairies," Kharel said with a smirk. He entered in the tower through the window Aisha broke with her body, and commanded his mount to finish off the other two fairies. The Sword of Bane was going to claim its first Winx.

…

From above, Nabu saw everything. He rushed into the wrecked palace, hoping that the vision wouldn't come true. He was flying as fast as he could, hoping that he wouldn't get lost. Sometimes debris would fall from the roof, but Nabu didn't care about that right now. His only thought was to save his beloved.

…

Back in the tower, Aisha, covered in bruises, tried to stood up. She was about to use her fairy dust to heal her wounds.

"Fist of Terror!"

A black blast of energy hurled the already injured fairy against a wall.

"You should have stayed hidden behind your man, silly fairy," Kharel said with a mad cackle. "Bet you're thinking that right now, aren't you? But there's no time for regret now."

Aisha stood up again and cast a weak attack at the knight, which was easily parried.

At that moment, Nabu arrived, and saw his girlfriend cornered against a wall by the red knight.

"You should know better than to fight against me directly, fairy," Kharel said.

Nabu saw once again Aisha being stabbed in the chest by the Sword of Bane.

"NO!" Nabu yelled, hoping it to be another nightmarish vision.

But sadly for the wizard, it wasn't a vision, nor a nightmare. It was real life. And his girlfriend was no longer part of it.

* * *

**And so, the invasion of Domino begins! This chapter was really long, so I decided to cut some parts to keep the suspense. Will Oritel and Mariam defeat the Man in Black like they did in the past? What is Gaul planning to do with Mirta? Did we see Aisha's end? Find it the next chapter!**


	33. The Battle of Domino

**Chapter 33: The Battle of Domino**

Time had stopped in Domino. Or at least, that was Nabu's impression upon seeing his beloved Aisha impaled by the Sword of Bane. Aisha's eyes were wide open, and so was her mouth, trying to say something but words wouldn't come out. The wizard kept telling himself that he was trapped inside another hallucination, or nightmare, and that he will wake up and realize that none of that had happened.

On the other hand, Kharel was overflowing with joy. He finally had killed one of those pesky Winx fairies, before the other two witches, even before Gaul. He was now Kharel, the Winx Killer. And soon, when the black skinned fairy's heart stopped beating, her powers would be absorbed into him through the Sword of Bane. The knight took one last look at Aisha before she died. But, to his surprise, Aisha was smirking at him.

Worried, Kharel examined the situation again. Why was that fairy smiling? Did he fail the hit? No, the sword was firmly stabbed on the fairy's abdomen. However, he realized that something was wrong.

Aisha's blood was _pink_.

The knight realized too late that he had been fooled when Aisha turned into a mass of pink goo which was absorbed into the sword. Right after that, he was hit from behind by an unseen energy attack. Four Aishas landed in the floor, surrounding him.

"So, what do you think about this spell I invented? I call it the Morphix Replica," Aisha said as she grinned at the red armored knight.

Being fooled by Aisha did nothing but enrage Kharel, who charged at one of the Aishas. However, the three remaining Aishas blasted him from behind again, and the knight fell to the floor, dropping the Sword of Bane in the process.

"Aisha! The sword! Don't let him get it back!" Nabu shouted.

The original Aisha nodded at her boyfriend, and created a whip out of Morphix that she used to catch the Sword of Bane.

"Don't touch that! It doesn't belong to one of your kind!" Kharel yelled, furious.

"Oh, but you've been a very bad boy, so now I'm going to take away your toy," Aisha said as she chastised him like a little kid.

"I don't need that sword to take care of you! You're DEAD!"

Kharel lunged towards Aisha with his right fist overflowing with dark energy, but before he could hit Aisha, Nabu appeared before him. The wizard hit the puzzled knight in the face with his staff, and used a spell to lift him in mid air and hurl him against a wall.

"Good one. This won't won't bother us anymore," Aisha said as she snapped her fingers, and the other three doppelgangers dissolved into morphix.

Nabu breathed slowly, and looked at his girlfriend with a contrived face. "You know Aisha, for a moment I thought that I had lost you for good. How did you survive?"

"You see, when I landed here, I wasn't as bruised or maimed as it appeared. When that dragon hit me, I created a protective morphix bubble around myself to soften the impact. It was sure that that guy was going to finish me off as soon as possible, and that I didn't have any chance against him, at least alone. In fact, I remembered what you told me about your vision, and thought that maybe it was true.

"But I refused to die here. So, as fast as I could, I stood on my feet and used my remaining power to create a morphix clone of myself. With the replica as a decoy, I flew to the roof, where I used Arthaia's technique to draw energy from Andros and regain some of my power. While Kharel killed the first replica, I created more, and well... you already know the rest."

"That very ingenious, Aisha," Nabu praised. "Very few people can come up with a plan so quickly under such a dangerous circumstances."

"Well, to be fair, I got that idea from you. You sometime create illusions to confuse the enemy, so I thought maybe I could do the same with my morphix. Thanks goodness it worked."

"Maybe you could teach me to draw energy from Andros in return, since I served as your inspiration," Nabu said with a smile, then he turned at the fallen knight and added: "Come on, we must take care of this guy before he wakes up and causes more trouble," Nabu suggested.

They walked towards the motionless (but still alive) armored knight when all of sudden, two Banshees suddenly appeared.

"Dammit!" Aisha said as she and Nabu jumped back. "Those creeps again!"

"What do we do? Fight? Do we stand a chance against them?" Nabu asked as he prepared for the fight, since he already knew answer.

"Of course! These fake fairies have nothing on me!" Aisha boasted.

The two banshees opened their mouths, releasing incredibly loud and high pitched screams. Aisha and Nabu fell to the floor, covering their ears in pain. When they stopped screaming, they turned to the fallen knight, and channeled a beam of energy at him.

That wail left Aisha and Nabu momentarily deaf and dazzled to the point of not even being able to stand on their feet.

When the two banshees finished with Kharel, the red knight was now back on his feet, and his body glowed blue.

"Yes! I feel INVINCIBLE!" Kharel shouted.

"Aisha, watch out!... his power... increased a lot!" Nabu tried to warn her, but Aisha heard nothing but a screech.

"You have no idea, wizard," Kharel hissed as his body started to accumulate energy in his body. After some seconds, he released all that energy in the form of a repulsion shockwave that hurled Aisha and Nabu against the opposite wall of the instance. The Banshees seemed unaffected by the attack.

Unfortunately, the shockwave made Aisha to drop the Sword of Bane, and Kharel lost no time picking it up.

"I'll be taking this, thanks," the knight said as he recovered his weapon. "Banshees, finish them off!"

The powerful but mindless dark fairies raised their hands, summoning a sphere of white light that crackled with electricity. "Star Crusher!" They both said as they motioned their arms forwards, releasing two currents of white energy at the fairy and the wizard.

"Black Hole Shield!" Nabu shouted as he drove his staff into the ground, generating a shield. The attack meant for Aisha suddenly was redirected at Nabu, and both attacks crashed against the shield, creating a huge explosion. When the smoke vanished, Nabu was on the ground, motionless, and Aisha was kneeling over him, trying to revive him.

"You're dead!" Kharel said as he leaped at Aisha and Nabu ready to kill them. But the moment the Sword of Bane touched Aisha, she instantly vanished, along with Nabu.

"Illusions? DAMN!" the red knight shouted in anger. Then he turned to the banshees, who stared at him. "What are you looking at, idiots? Find them! FIND THEM AND KILL THEM!"

The two banshees nodded and flew out of the room.

…

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Domino Palace, Oritel and Mariam were fighting the Man in Black. Oritel was engaging him in a sword duel while Mariam flew around them and attacked at key moments with her magic.

"You cannot win, Oritel," the Man in Black said as they traded blows. "Your kingdom is on fire, overrun by undead, darkness and corruption."

"Yes, but this time, your puppeteers aren't here to back you up!" said Oritel as he kicked his masked opponent in the chest, making him momentarily lose balance.

"Lightning Spear!" Mariam shouted before casting a powerful lightning bolt at the Man in Black that violently hurled him backwards and out of the castle.

Mariam quickly followed him outside, and saw the Man in Black lying on the floor, trying to stand up. The Queen of Domino trapped his legs in ice, and without muttering a word, she waved her arms in circles as pieces of dirt and rock were pulled from the ground and converged on a single point in the sky above the Man in Black. When the sphere of earth and rock was finished, it was set on fire.

"Your end is near, monster! Cosmic Cataclysm!" Mariam yelled as he swiftly lowered her hand.

The huge flaming boulder descended at fast speed towards the Man in Black, but the masked overlord wasn't going to stay there and take the attack. As fast as he could, he created a black energy ball between his hands, and released that energy in the form of a beam at the meteor, which was destroyed upon impact, making a rain of small shards of rock on fire.

"Not bad, Mariam, not bad," the man in Black said as he melted the ice with his sword of fire. "But you're still far from destroying me. Now it's my turn! Flames of the Black Sun, release!"

The Man in Black cast a blaze of black fire at the Queen of Domino. Mariam erected a protection bubble around herself, but the black fire devoured it in mere seconds. Left with no option, Mariam floated backwards attempting to flee from the black fire.

"Mariam, move aside!" Oritel yelled as he raised his sword. The sword of Domino began to glow with an intense blue light, and Oritel made a slashing motion. "Echo Slash!"

Oritel released a crescent-shaped energy beam, similar to those cast by Marco, except that this one was blue instead of golden. The attack dispelled the black fire almost instantly.

"Your power is great, dark one. But you cannot match the Dragon Fire!" Oritel boasted.

"I beg to differ, old friend," the Man in Black said before reactivating his Hellfire Sword and engaging Oritel in melee combat again.

While the King of Domino and the Dark Lord traded blows, Mariam would sometimes cast an elemental spell at the masked man in hopes of giving her husband a much needed advantage. Oritel had hoped that all the years his foe spent in the Omega Dimension had weaken him, but he was as powerful as the King of Domino remembered.

"Give up, little king," the Man in Black said as he wrestled his enemy in a bladelock. "I'm stronger than you, my swordsmanship is better, and my sorcery exceeds your wife's. You have no hopes of winning!"

"SHUT UP!" Oritel said in anger as he kicked the Man in Black backwards.

Mariam cast a rain of sharp icicles at the Man in Black, forcing him to place some distance between himself and the monarchs of Domino.

"Come on Oritel! Let's do it together!" Mariam said.

Oritel nodded, and raised his Sword again. Mariam began to charge the sword with magic energy. The sword crackled small sparks of electricity as it was being charged, and acquired a yellow glow. When the Sword was fully charged, Oritel swung it at the Man in Black, releasing a current of yellow lightnings. Not a single bit scared nor impressed, the Man in Black withdrew his sword and caught the lightnings with his hands, concentrating them into one single point before dissipating it.

"That's all? I remember that you two used to be fierce warriors. Did that time in Obsidian weaken you?" the Man in Black said as he menacingly walked towards the rulers of Domino.

"It seems that we have to do it again," Oritel said.

"Yes, there's no other option," Mariam said.

The Queen of Domino closed her eyes, touched her forefinger tips together, and whispered a spell. She turned into a mass of pure blue energy and absorbed herself into the Sword of Oritel. Immediately, Oritel was engulfed by a white flash of light that momentarily blinded the Man in Black. When the light disappeared, Oritel was now wearing a full body silver armor, leaving nothing but his eyes exposed, which glowed with a blue light. The armor was beautifully decorated with dragon and fire motifs.

"That old trick again," the Man in Black said, more exasperated that worried. "What makes you think that it will work a second time?"

"The fact that it worked the first time!" Oritel and Mariam said in unison before charging.

…

Meanwhile, in the Man in Black's outpost in the outskirts of the Capital City, Bloom, Stella and Flora are still fighting against Neyra and Mirage. Bloom was charging a fireball, but she suddenly stopped, and stayed there shocked.

"Bloom?" Flora asked, worried. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes...but I sensed something, it was... it was my parents! They're fighting the Man in Black!" Bloom said in horror as she took her hands to the head. "They're going to die!"

"You don't know that for sure!" Stella said as she cast a solar beam at Mirage. "They said they defeated that guy in the past! Maybe they can do it again."

"No, you guys don't get it. I saw an image in the Book of Fate that predicted that my parents would die fighting him! I... I have to help them, but..."

"Then go, Bloom! We can take care of these harpies!" Flora said.

"Are you sure?" Bloom said, still unsure.

"Don't worry about us Bloom, we will be fine!" Stella reassured.

Bloom cast all her doubts aside, and flew away from the outpost.

…

The battle of the Capital City didn't have a clear winner yet. While it looked like the first wave of undead and mercenaries was overwhelming the defenders of Domino at first, they seemed to be gaining the upper hand now.

Musa and Tecna suffered some serious injuries. The specialists, Mirta and Marco had to take them to a safe place so the paladin could heal them.

"How are them?" Mirta asked, worried.

"They'll live," the paladin replied. He had each hand over both fairies bodies. His hands glowed with a golden light. Mirta could appreciate how their wounds were slowly closing up, until they were fully recovered.

Partially recovered now, the fairy of music and the fairy of technology stood up.

"Musa? Tecna? How do you feel?" the redheaded fairy asked.

"I've been better, but thanks," Musa said as she rubbed her head.

Tecna was about to say something, until she noticed that somebody was missing. "What happened to Aisha? She was with us when Kharel attacked us," Tecna asked.

"I can sesne her and Nabu somewhere inside the palace. They're fine for what can I tell," Mirta said. She was also worried about the princess of Andros. Neither she nor Nabu could match Kharel and his magic-draining sword.

"Wait a minute, I'm sensing something coming here at fast speed..." Marco said, suddenly looking around. "It's an undead, but is very powerful. It's-"

"Yes, I sense it too," Musa said. "He's here."

A cloud of purple smoke appeared out of nowhere in front of the paladin and the three fairies, and the Lich known as Gaul emerged from the clouds.

"Hello there, kids. Miss me?" the Lich asked in a casual tone.

"I knew you have to be not far from here, creep," Musa said. "So, why did you decide to come out of hiding? Did you like how we beat you in Melody and came for more?" Musa teased.

"You barely stood a chance against me before, so you have no hope. I have Musa, Mirta and Marco at my side to fight you!" Tecna said.

"You certainly take pleasure in your victories, don't you? Well, I managed to survive for so long after the Coven's defeat because I learn from my mistakes... and I'm going to make sure that you don't enjoy the advantage you have over me this planet gives you," Gaul prepared to cast a spell, and three fairies and the paladin adopted a defensive stance. "Well of Nightmares!"

The three fairies and the paladin were engulfed by a huge tide of darkness. When they opened their eyes, they weren't on Domino anymore. They were in some sort of purple limbo, filled with asteroids of varying sizes. In fact, they were standing on a huge asteroid.

"What's this place?" Musa asked, looking around.

"I believe it's some sort of pocket dimension created by the lich," Tecna said, looking around as well in search of menaces.

"Ah, sharp as ever, fairy of technology!" Gaul's voice said, echoing through the vast empty space. "Now that you're in MY playground, let's see how well do you fare against me!"

"Do your worst, skeleton!" Marco taunted.

"You soon will regret those words, little paladin..."

"Stay together! In places like this, laws of reality doesn't work as they should! We're at his mercy!" Tecna urged the rest.

A cloud of smoke formed before them, and Gaul came out from it.

"So, shall we dance?" the Lich asked. "As usual, ladies go first."

"Oh, you asked for it, monster! Sonic-!" Musa was about to say before Tecna grabbed her by the arm.

"No, wait!" Tecna said.

"What? Why did you stop me?" Musa asked, a bit confused.

"He only let us attack first so he can see our spells and think in a way to counter them!" Tecna said. "It may not be evident, but this place gives him a huge advantage over us. We must be careful."

"Bravo, fairy of technology. You never cease to surprise me. I think I'll have you killed first," the Lich said, and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a small army of skeletons appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the group.

The skeletons charged at them, and the three fairies and the paladin repelled the attack using only their most basic spells and combat techniques. After a brief fight, the skeletons were no more.

"Ha, that's all?" Musa asked as she turned at the Lich. "You're going to need something-"

Musa was suddenly blasted by many bolts of red lightning.

"If you don't want to accept the opportunity to strike me down first, it's perfectly fine with me," the Lich said with a shrug. He then cast another barrage of red lightning at the remaining three.

"Digital Shield!" Tecna said as she waved her hands, summoning a green protection bubble around the group that blocked the lich's attack.

Marco took advantage of the moment and charged at the lich. While doing so, Gaul cast some dark beams at the paladin, but Marco either dodged them or countered them with blasts of holy power. When he was at melee range, he swiftly moved his sword in a circular motion trying to slash gaul. Trying was the key word, since the paladin's sword phased through the undead sorcerer.

"The hell?" Marco asked in confusion.

"That's the place where I'm going to send you all," Gaul said with extreme satisfaction. He then curled his fingers into claws, and several threads of darkness formed around the paladin's body, wrapping against it. One of the threads wrapped around his neck, depriving him of air. He wanted to ask for help, but words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Still, he didn't need to say anything, since the three fairies were already on their way to help him.

"Harmonic Serenade!" Musa said, casting magic waves of sound at Marco and Gaul.

The magical soundwaves undid the lich's spell, releasing the paladin. Tecna and Mirta advanced in order to face the lich.

"Electric Storm!" Tecna shouted.

"Crimson Beam!" Mirta said.

Gaul erected a dark shield that blocked both attacks.

"You may not realize of it yet, but you're compeltely hopeless." the lich mocked. He then formed a sphere of darkness between his hands, and shouted: "Now die! Scream of Terror!"

Many shadow bolts came out of the sphere and targeted Musa, Tecna and Marco. They tried to protect themselves with magic shields, but in the end they couldn't resist anymore and fell before the attack.

"Pathetic," the lich said.

The three of them tried to stand up, but they were too injured.

"Marco, use your healing powers while I keep him busy!" Mirta said as she prepared to face the lich. "You haven't won yet, I'm still here!" Mirta shouted as she prepared to attack.

"You silly little fairy...didn't you realize that if you're not in the same situation as your friends it's because that's how I arranged it to be?" Gaul asked.

"Then what do you want of me?" the half witch asked.

"Oh, I just want to say thank you," the lich said, leaving Mirta a bit perplexed. "It was thanks to you that I was able to create the Banshees. To be more precise, you were the inspiration for them."

Now Mirta was really lost. "What... do you mean?"

"It's something that has always been in my mind, but never thought to be possible: imagine a being with the powers of both fairies and witches. A being that could harness raw dark energy, magnified by the Enchantix? Nothing would stop that! But it looked like a fantasy, something that even the most advanced technology or the most powerful sorcery couldn't create... until recently.

"Tell me, Mirta, do you remember what happened in the Forge, a few months ago, when you and your fairy friends fought against Neyra and Mirage?"

"Not much. I was knocked unconscious. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Knocked unconscious? That's what they told you?" Gaul said with a cackle. "Your friends are certainly quite dishonest. Maybe they were afraid that you couldn't handle the truth?"

"No Mirta! Don't listen to him!" Musa shouted.

"Truth? What truth?" Mirta asked, confused. However, she sensed that both Musa and Tecna were growing distressed as Gaul continued speaking.

"Now, let's take a look at what _really _happened, okay?" the lich said.

Gaul waved his hand, and they were suddenly terleported to the Forge. Neyra and Mirage where fighting Bloom, Flora, Musa, Tecna and Mirta. Mirage used the Eye of Oblivion to weaken the Winx, but it seemed to have no effect on Mirta. Mirta's figure darkened to the point of turning into a living shadow, and blasted the two witches effortlessly. Then, she attacked the Winx. The four Winx had to use a convergence spell with the fairy dust in order to turn her back to normal.

"You were my inspiration, Mirta," Gaul said. "The perfect union between dark and light, embodied in a completely emotionless killing machine. That's why I turned the corrupted Eraklyon fairies into what you first saw in Melody. In a way, you could say that the banshees are your... sisters."

"No...no...that's a lie! I would never attack my friends!" Mirta yelled.

"Maybe not consciously," Gaul replied with a shrug. "But so much dark power without the proper training to handle it can do that to you. But, if you don't believe me, you can always ask your trustful friends, can't you?"

Mirta turned at Tecna and Musa, hoping for them to tell her that it was all a trick to break her. But they remained silent. Still, Mirta didn't need to hear them; thanks to her emphatic powers, she could feel their emotional struggle, their effort to keep a secret too painful to be told. Musa broke the silence.

"Mirta... we thought it would be best if we don't tell you... we were afraid of how you would react," the fairy of music said, deeply ashamed. "Now I see that we shouldn't have hidden the truth from you..."

"And you... still trusted me near you? After almost killing you?" Mirta asked in anguish.

"It was an accident. We didn't know what caused it, but it wasn't certainly your fault," Tecna continued.

"Mirta, why are you so scared?" Gaul asked. "Don't you realize how unique you are? The great power you have? I know that you think that you don't belong with them. It's true! Come with me. Join me, and I'll teach you to use the power you have to its full potential. There's no more room in this world for fairies, or witches either. Your kind is the future. You could be the commander of the banshee army that will wipe the world of weaklings and all the conflict they cause, establishing a new order!"

"Don't listen to him, Mirta! Your place will always be among us!" Musa called. "You're a fairy!"

"Are you? Or maybe it's something you constantly tell yourself out of fear of your true self?" Gaul asked.

Mirta looked doubtful, as if she was considering Gaul's offer. Tecna knew exactly why.

"Mirta, it's this place! It's amplifying our negative emotions, such as doubt! Don't listen to him!" Tecna pleaded.

"Mirta," Marco called in a firm, almost cold tone. The half fairy turned at him. His emotions were impossible to read. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. Search your feelings, and you will see which path you must take. The decision is yours."

On one hand, Gaul was right. Was Mirta's place among the Winx, among the fairies? Shouldn't she accept her dark inheritance, and embrace it? In fact, that's what Bloom did when she found she was a fairy. Not only did Bloom became a fairy, but started a three year long quest to find her parents and birthworld. Bloom had embraced her true self, leaving everything else behind. Was this her fate too?

But doing that meant to betray the Winx, Marco, Lucy and all the people she met and befriended since she arrived at Cloud Tower. No, she couldn't do that. Her heart told her that she would never be a true fairy, but it also told her that her friends were before anything else. Yes, now she had to make sure that the Winx and Domino were safe. She'll think what to do next once all this madness was over.

With new resolution, she turned at Gaul.

"If you think I'm going to let you hurt my friends, then you're more clueless about me than I thought!" Mirta said with determination. Musa and Tecna's face lit in joy, and Marco smirked at him.

"So it be then. This place will be your tomb!" Gaul said as he adopted a battle stance again.

"Mirta, come with us, I have a plan!" Tecna said. "Marco, I know it won't be easy, but I need you to hold off the Lich while we get ready!"

Marco didn't know what did the pink haired fairy meant by 'getting ready', but it would be better to trust her.

"Alright, leave him to me," Marco said as he charged at the lich.

"So what's the plan?" Mirta asked worried, glancing at Marco, who was engaging Gaul alone. "I don't think Marco can hold against Gaul for long."

"We're inside a pocket dimension created by Gaul. All what we need to do is to destroy this dimension, and we will be back on Domino again," Tecna explained.

"Destroy this dimension? You even made it sound as it is something easy," Musa said, raising an eyebrow.

"It is. This dimension was created and sustained by Gaul's dark power. If we concentrate our power, it will cause an overload of light energy that will rip this dimension apart," Tecna said. "We have no time. Every second counts."

The three fairies formed a circle, and channeled all their remaining power into a single point. While they did it, they heard Marco fighting against Gaul, and it was obvious that he was on the verge of losing. They were tempted to go and help him, but they coudln't. Their survival depended on this very moment. Their converged energies took the form of an orb of light of changing colors that became bigger and bigger with each passing moment.

"Keep going! It will reach critical state in five... four... three... two... one... now, release!"

The orb's energy was released in the form of blinding current of light. When it happened, the three fairies felt that it restored part of their power, as well as the paladin's energy. Gaul, on the other hand, let out a scream of pain and agony, and as predicted by Tecna, the pocket dimension shattered to pieces, disappearing, and revealing Domino again.

The wave of energy, however, had enough power to continue its expansion after destroying the dark dimension, and it destroyed every undead in its path, and healed every human who was touched by it.

"We did it!" Musa said in joy.

"Did you have any doubts?" Tecna asked, quirking an eyebrow and smiling proudly.

"Hey...where did the lich go?" Mirta asked upon realizing that Gaul was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think we killed him this time?" Musa asked.

"I wouldn't count on it," Tecna said somberly. "Come on, this battle is far from over."

…

Back in the Man in Black's outpost, Stella and Flora continued their fight against Mirage and Neyra.

"You're dead! Shadow Nova!" Mirage shouting, before casting a blast of dark energy at Stella and Flora.

"Ocean of Light!" Stella shouted as she waved her scepter, releasing a wave of light. Both attacks canceled each other upon contact.

"Stella! Fighting them is not the point of coming here!" Flora reminded her blonde friend.

"Yeah, I know. You came here to destroy this place, and cut our army from the reinforcements," Mirage said in a haughty tone. "And your brainpower must be really low if you think we're going to let you do that!"

"Then try to stop THIS! Great Emerald Forest!" Flora said.

Trees started to grow all over the place at a very fast rate. They could tear down the whole building if they were left to grow unmolested. Unfortunately for Flora, it wasn't going to be the case.

"Twisted Hell!" Neyra yelled,. Summoning several spinning pillars of fire that burned the summoned trees to ashes. "Try something more challenging next time, flower fairy, I'm getting bored."

"Stella, let's switch places! My magic barely work against fire!"

"Sure, leave her to me!" Stella said as she was ready to face Neyra.

"You know what? I'm getting tired of seeing your vapid faces! Sister, let's finish them already!" Neyra said. "Flame Torrent!"

Neyra cast a huge wave of fire against the two fairies. They were ready to repel the attack. However, Mirage waved her hands, and altered the course of the fire wave so it began to spin around them. Suddenly, Flora and Stella were inside a fire tornado. They cast two protection bubbles to avoid the extreme heat, but the fiery tornado didn't end.

"What's the matter, little fairies? Can't you stand the heat?" Neyra said and laughed, proud of her pun.

"Keep the fire sister. I can still hear their thoughts," Mirage said as she kept the fire around the two fairies. "It won't take long until..."

Mirage was interrupted when a chain suddenly wrapped around her body, breaking her concentration. Then somebody pulled the chain from the other end, slamming the psychic witch against a wall.

"Mirage?" was all what Neyra could said before a boomerang hit her forehead, knocking her out.

The torrent of fire that was cooking Stella and Flora laive stopped, and the two fairies fell to the ground, exhausted. They wondered what happened until they saw the specialists sans Nabu standing there, in battle poses. Brandon and Helia rushed to check their girlfriends.

"Stella, are you okay?" Brandon said.

"I've been better," Stella said bitterly, as she checked all the burns across her body.

"How did you guys knew we were here?" Flora asked as she stood up.

"We got a message from Bloom," Helia said, pulling out his Winx badge. "She told us to come here and lend you a hand tearing this place down."

"Which we did," Riven said.

Mirage, who was helping her sister to recover, opened her eyes wide. "Neyra, we have to leave! They filled this place with explosives!"

Without further ado, she took her sister in arms and flew out of there.

"So... who wants to see some fireworks?" Riven asked with a smirk.

…

Meanwhile, back at the gardens in front of the Royal Palace, the Man in Black continued his duel against the monarchs of Domino, who were fused in a single being. They traded blows relentlessly, occasionally stopping only to cast a spell at their opponent, but for most of the time the battle didn't have any clear winner.

"You should have stayed inside your pompous palace and hid there until the storm was over," the Man in Black said. "You're obviously not cut out for this!"

"Did you forget how we defeated you twenty years ago?" the voices of Oritel and Mariam replied as if they were one.

"I've learned a lot since our last showdown," the Man in Black said. "Dark Slam!"

The Man in Black slammed the ground with his right foot, sending a wave of energy through the ground that caused a small tremor that knocked his enemy off his feet. The masked man the leaped in mid air, ready to stab his enemy and put an end to the fight. The silver knight that was Oritel and Mariam combined rolled on its back, avoiding the attack and quickly stood on its feet again.

"Lightning Helix!" the silver knight shouted, casting many lightning bolts in the form of spirals.

The attack hit the Man in Black full, and shouted in pain.

"You will pay for that," the Man in Black said in a cold tone. He then opened his arms wide, showing his armored chest, and shouted: "Darkness of Eternity!"

The masked man cast a huge black edged, purple beam at the silver knight, who used the Sword of Oirtel to block it. The Man in Black kept channeling his attack in hopes of overwhelming his opponent's defenses, but the Sword of Oritel turned out to be as good as a shield as it was a sword. After some moments, the silver knight waved the sword forward, tossing the Man in Black's attack back at him. The Man in Black fell on his knees, gasping for air.

"You made a mistake, dark one. You used too much energy on an attack that turned out to be useless," the voices of Oritel and Mariam said. "Now you're completely helpless. Your lust for blood and death ends here."

The silver knight began to glow with an intense white light, and was surrounded by an aura of white fire. The white fire began to from serpentine dragons that let out roars at the Man in Black.

"This should do it," the silver knight said.

"It's you who made a mistake, monarchs of Domino," the Man in Black said in a cold tone. "The mistake to think that this a duel!"

Suddenly, energy beams of many colors rained from the sky, hitting the ground near the silver knight, who was forced to interrupt his spell and take cover from the sudden shower of multi colored death. Several banshees descended from the sky. Two of them cast white beams of energy at the Man in Black, restoring his energy and power like they did with Kharel before. The other banshees surrounded the silver knight that embodied the two monarchs of Domino.

"As I said before, this wasn't going to be like the last time," the Man in Black said.

"What happened to your pride, dark one? What about fighting us alone to restore your honor?" the silver knight asked.

"In war, only the result is what matters. Everything else is meaningless," the Man in Black said. "Plus the satisfaction of seeing you die will be a good reward."

Before the Man in Black and his squad of Banshees could attack again, the silver knight was surrounded by a wall of fire. The wall of fire then expanded outwards, forcing the banshees to move back, but it didn't intimidate the Man in Black.

"My parents won't die today, monster!" Bloom yelled as she descended from above.

"The princess of Domino finally showed up. I wondered where you could be," the Man in Black said. "Good, now I can kill the entire royal family of Domino!"

"Bloom! What are you doing here?" The silver knight asked. "We told you to-"

"I know what you said," Bloom replied. "But... I just couldn't let you do it alone. I went through too many things in order to save you, and I'll be damned if I let you die at the hands of this vile creature!"

The silver knight stood there for a moment, thinking what they could say to Bloom to make her leave. But deep inside, they knew that Bloom's mind was set.

"Okay, you win, Bloom. We will fight him together. Just promise us to be careful."

"Don't worry. I will," Bloom said with a smirk.

"How beautiful, you decided to stick together like a family. Then all of you will die as such! Banshees, attack!"

The battle that would decide the fate of Domino, and the rest of the universe was about to begin.

* * *

**Author's note: once again, sorry for the long delay, but this arc is the most boring to write for, with beraly any character developemt or plot advancement, plus the massive writer's block I'm suffering. But hopefully once the Doino arc is over, it will be easier to write new chapters.**

**So, as many of you guessed, Aisha is still alive, but Mirta now learned the awful truth about her "dark side", and Bloom and her parents are about to fight the Man in Black. Which will be the outcome of all this? Keep reading, and don't forget to review!  
**


	34. The Light After the Darkness

**Chapter 34: The Light After the Darkness**

Fights, fire and violence raged across the Capital City in a way that hadn't been seen since the war against the Ancient Witch Coven. In fact, the perpetrator of the attack, in his own words, came to Domino to finish what the Ancestresses began two decades ago. He flooded the city with undead, mercenaries and corrupted fairies that fought against the soldiers, wizards and fairies of Domino. When the battle seemed to tilt towards one side, the other side fought more intensely and regained the lost ground.

But the real battle, the battle that would decide the fate of Domino, was taking place not across the city, but in front of the Royal Palace. The Man in Black, supreme commander of the invading army, planned to kill the monarchs of Domino himself, and would destroy anyone who would dare to stand between him and his opponents.

"Banshees, take care of the little princess," the Man in Black said. "I have some unfinished business with her parents."

The mindless dark fairies nodded and focused all their attention on Bloom. The princess of Domino knew that a single banshee could be a formidable opponent, so a whole cadre of them would be a near impossible fight to win. Still, her determination to protect her homeworld and birth parents didn't shrink.

The banshees attacked Bloom, shooting deadly energy beams like they did a moment before at her parents, but Bloom managed to dodge them and counterattack with several streams of fire. It proved to be as useless as the banshees' attacks, since they also either dodged them or blocked them with an energy shield.

"Thundering Wrath!" one of the banshees said, casting a hand upwards. Small black clouds formed above her, and cast lightning bolts at Bloom.

Bloom formed a fireball on her hand, and waved that hand in a slashing motion releasing many small fire bolts that crashed against the many lightning bolts, finally piercing through the storm clouds, dispelling them.

"You'd better have something more effective than that," Bloom taunted. "I have ton of experience fighting against storm witches."

Another dark fairy, as if prove that they did have something more effective in their arsenal of spells, cast another spell.

"Toxic Touch!" another banshee said, casting a skull-shaped bolt of yellowish green energy at Bloom.

Bloom decided to simply dodge it, but when the bolt passed near her, it exploded in a cloud of a gas of the same color. Bloom imagined that, by the name of the attack, said gas would be highly poisonous and decided to move away. However, the banshee repeated the same move several times, and soon Bloom saw herself surrounded by clouds of the lethal green gas.

"Flame Burst!" Bloom yelled, releasing fire in all directions, dispelling the poison clouds as well.

Bloom realized that she was not doing well. So far she was resisting everything the banshees were throwing at her, but she didn't know how long she could continue like that. Plus she had barely attacked her foes as well. She needed something to turn the tables of the one sided battle. She didn't have time to pull out her badge and call for the others. Bloom then remembered something: a few years ago, during their trip to the Wildlands, Stella used her powers to shoot a flare into the sky and alert the others about her being in danger. Seeing that she had nothing to lose, she shot a fireball into the sky, causing an explosion that could be seen from any place of the city and its surroundings.

Suddenly, one of the Banshees was hit by a blast of pink energy that Bloom immediately recognized. The Dragon Fire Fairy turned around to see Aisha floating in front of her.

"Wow, that was fast," Bloom said in amazement.

"I saw that you needed some help," Aisha replied with a grin.

"Aisha! When that dragon threw you into the castle and that red knight with the magic draining sword followed you, I feared the worst," Bloom said in joy. "By the way, where's Nabu?"

"He stayed inside the palace and helped the royal guard repel the undead and some dark fairies."

"I see. Listen Aisha, these Banshees are really powerful. We must be careful," Bloom said.

"Don't worry, I've already dealt with them too, and they aren't such a big deal," Aisha said as she came closer to Bloom, and placed herself back to back with Bloom.

"Still it would be better if we took them out of commission and went to help my parents," Bloom urged.

"Alright. I think I have an spell that can remove them from the picture for some time. However, I'm a bit tired and I don't think I can make it powerful enough to work against the Banshees..."

"Don't worry about power, if that's what you need I can spare you some!" Bloom said before raising both arms. "Blessing of the Dragon!"

Bloom created a serpentine dragon made of fire that wrapped around Aisha, surrounding the princess of Andros with a fire aura. Aisha felt her body overflowing with energy and power, healing her wounds and restoring her.

"So, this is what it feels to have the Dragon Fire? It's amazing!" Aisha marveled.

"Hurry, the Banshees are coming!" Bloom shouted upon seeing the Banshees coming closer.

"Right! Super Morphix Dragon!" Aisha said.

Aisha summoned a huge dragon made of morphix. The dragon roared, and quickly swallowed the Banshees. When the Dragon devoured the last of the dark fairies, it split into several morphix bubbles, each bubble containing a Banshee. The banshees tried to break free, but the morphix bubbles were as hard as steel.

"Great job Aisha! Now let's go and help my parents!" Bloom said. Aisha nodded in agreement.

As Bloom said, her parents (still fused into one being, a humanoid silver knight) were fighting the Man in Black. It seemed that the Man in Black had the upper hand this time. The silver knight kicked the masked man backwards, and cast a spell.

"Eye of the Storm!"

The Man in Black was trapped inside a tornado, which also produced lightning sparks . He used his sword to parry some, but most of them hit him.

"Shadow Nova!" The Man in Black yelled, releasing an explosion of dark energy that undid the electric tornado. "Path of Destruction!" he shouted again, casting a pure black energy bolt at the silver knight, who was blasted backwards.

"Once you're dead, I will use your corpses to build a throne," the Man in Black threatened as he raised his sword for one last blow.

However, a pink, energy string wrapped around his wrist and pulled him backwards. The pull wasn't string enough to move him, but it certainly caught him by surprise. He turned around and saw Aisha holding the other end of the energy string, with Bloom at her side.

"Miss me much?" Aisha asked with a smirk.

"I can't believe that you defeated my Banshees so quickly," the Man in Black said. "But that won't change anything in the long run."

The Man in Black pulled the morphix string with his incredible strength, dragging the shocked Aisha around. He then jumped and caught the terrified fairy by the throat, and slammed her against the ground. Aisha exploded into pink goo upon impact.

Before the Man in Black could react, he was hit in the back several times by morphix bolts. He turned around to see Aisha again.

"A clone. Intelligent. Very intelligent."

"Bloom, Aisha!" the silver knight called. "Listen to us. If you let us fight him directly and help us from afar with your magic and prevent any foe from interfering, we can beat him! Trust us, we can win!"

"Really? That's it? That's your brilliant strategy?" The Man in Black said before laughing. "How disappointing."

"Shut up already!" Bloom said before shooting a huge fireball at him.

The Man in Black created an energy bubble to shield himself from the fiery attack, which caused a huge explosion. Fast as lightning, the Man in Black leaped from the cloud of smoke right in front of Bloom, sword in hand, ready to slash her in two.

Fortunately, Bloom expected this, and she shot a second fireball which blasted the Man in Black and knocked him back to the ground. The silver knight took advantage of the Man in Black's situation, and rushed towards him, ready to stab him in the chest and end his life. But when the Sword of Domino touched the Man in Black, his body vanished.

"What?" the silver knight said.

"It's an illusion! Watch out for him!" Aisha warned.

However, it was too late. The Man in Black was already behind the silver knight, and grabbed its neck with one hand in an iron grip.

"I'm going to enjoy this so much," the Man in Black said with a sadistic tone as he created a ball of black fire in the other hand. "BLACK SUN SUPERNOVA!"

The ball of black fire exploded at point blank, causing a huge blast of black fire and dark energy, hurling the silver knight against a stone wall, but apparently causing no harm to the Man in Black. When the silver knight fell to the ground, it split into Oritel and Mariam. They were uncosncious.

"Mother! Father! No!" Bloom cried in horror as she saw the bodies of her birth parents.

"Bloom, we have to-" Aisha was about to say before the Man in Black, in another display of superhuman speed, leaped towards her and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick which slammed the Princess of Andros against the ground.

"Tell me Bloom," the Man in Black calmly said. "Do you think you can resist me until the rest of your friends decide to drop by?"

Bloom was too horrified to fight. Her parents and Aisha could be dead right now. However, she still sensed their vital energy, even if it was really weak. They needed to be healed, and fast. But to do that, she had to get rid of the Man in Black. And to do that, she need to focus.

"_Come on Bloom, you defeated Valtor, and you can defeat his apprentice. You don't need any help,_" Bloom thought. "_If I use Arthaia's technique, I can increase my power enough to defeat him._"

Knowing that she had little time, she thought of Domino and tried to extract energy from it. But for some reason, it dodn't work. She tried to recall good memories from the planet, but she realized that she had very few, and all of them were very recent. Besides, when she tried to think home, it was Earth she saw in her mind, and Mike and Vanessa instead of Oritel and Mariam when she thought of her family.

"No... no... why it doesn't work?" Bloom cried in desperation.

"Let me guess, your last resort didn't work as planned?" the Man in Black said with a cruel laugh. He advanced towards Bloom in a menacing way. "You made a valiant effort today, Bloom. You're indeed a worthy foe, but your dynasty will end now."

"No! This is my home, and these people are my family! I fought really hard to save them, and I won't let you or anybody to take them away from me again!" Bloom said as she adopted a battle stance and gathered all the magic power in her.

The Man in Black suddenly stopped, and laughed again. "Oh, so that's it."

"What?" Bloom asked, confused.

"Is that true? Do you really care about what happens to this world and its inhabitants?" the Man in Black asked.

"Of course I do!" Bloom said. "I'm the princess of Domino and its guardian fairy!"

"Save all those titles for somebody who cares about them," the Man in Black said. "We both know that's not true, Bloom."

"What?"

"'I fought really hard to save them, and I won't let you or anybody to take them away from me again'," the Man in Black quoted. "That's what you said. That's why you fought with such fiery passion, right? It was your little obsession. Yes, Gaul told me a lot about you. He told me about your epic quest for restoring your lost kingdom. And you didn't want all that effort to go waste."

"No! That's not true!"

"Really? You may fool others, but not me. You're just like me, Bloom. You don't care about anything but your goals. You wanted to save your parents, so you did it, and want to keep them. You don't love them. When you fight, you aren't thinking of them, you're thinking of _you_."

"You creatures of evil think that everybody is as selfish and power hungry as you are, but we aren't!" Bloom said in a defiant tone. "I'm a fairy, a protectress of the universe! I fight to save others, not just myself!"

"That's a pretty lie, but a lie anyway," the Man in Black replied. "That's what you and your kind like to say to hide your true intentions. You fight villains, monsters, criminals and save innocent people. And people praise you for that. And you _love_ that, don't you? You love being a heroine. It makes you feel so great, so _superior_, doesn't it? Because, think about the power you wield. That makes you a goddess over ants, even among other fairies, although you don't want to think that. We may be similar, but the key difference is that I embraced my true nature, while you reject it.

"And that, my dear Bloom, is the key to true power. When there's something you want to achieve more than anything, and you won't let anybody stand in your way, you can harness such strength and power you didn't know you had. If you want the power to defeat me, stop lying to yourself."

"I... I..." Bloom said as she fell to her knees.

"Deep inside, you know it's the truth."

"Don't listen to him!" Oritel yelled.

The Man in Black turned around to see Oritel and Mariam on their feet, in a battle stance.

"I thought I gave you a fatal hit. Guess that I forgot how annoyingly reluctant to die you two are."

"We could say the same about you," Mariam said, then she looked at her husband. "Ready?"

"Always."

Mariam then charged Oritel's sword with lightning. Oritel then threw the electric-charged sword at the Man in Black.

...but the Man in Black simply caught the sword.

"Pathetic," the Man in Black said. He then looked at the Sword of Domino, and said: "It would be a delightful irony if the royal family of this world were killed by this sword, haha."

He walked towards Bloom, as he raised the sword of Oritel.

"Let's start with you Bloom," the Man in Black said before dealing a fatal blow.

Suddenly, the Man in Black felt a surge of indescribable pain rushing through his body. Realizing that it came from the sword of Oritel, it immediately dropped it. A couple seconds more and he would have died.

"What kind of trick..." the Man in Black said as he fell to his knees.

Mariam waved her hand, and levitated the Sword of Domino towards her husband's hands.

"This sword can only be wielded by a king," Oritel said. "And you are not a king."

"That was... unexpected..." the Man in Black said as he tried to stand up. "Maybe you are more of a worthy foe then I remembered..."

"Surrender, dark one. You lost."

"You think that just because you caused me some harm, you already won!?" the Man in Black yelled. "You will pay for such an insult. You are in no better shape then me, and I have more than enough power left to kill you."

"Yes, but do you have enough power to beat us as well?" a new voice said.

The Man in Black turned around to see the rest of the Winx Club and the specialists coming close. The fairies began to shoot energy beams from above. The Man in Black tried to dodge them, but he was hit by Musa's sonic wave attack.

"Yes! Direct hit!" Musa said as she pumped a fist.

"Do you still think you can win?" Riven asked. "You should take a look around the city. Your undead are being driven back by the army of Domino."

The Man in Black took a moment to evaluate the situation. Then, he spoke.

"I can see when I've been defeated," the masked man said. "But this is far from the end. You have seen nothing yet!"

A huge shadow blocked darkened the sky, and dived in, revealing to be a bonewyrm. The undead dragon used his fire breath to scatter the Man in Black's enemies. Then it landed close to the Man in Black, who climbed on its back, and flew away.

Everybody went to check on Bloom and Aisha. Aisha was badly injured, and was quickly brought to the palace's infirmary so she could be healed. Bloom seemed to be okay, just a bit exhausted and bruised. However, she looked subdued and glum. They decided that it would be better for her if she rested as well.

Oritel went to talk with the remaining Winx and specialists.

"Tell us, how is everything out there?" the king of Domino asked.

"From what we saw, the undead, mercenaries and dark fairies were succesfully repelled from the city," Brandon said.

"We also managed to trap a few dark fairies and Banshees with the White Seal spell," Flora said. "Hopefully they can be turned back to normal."

"Have you tried fairy dust?" Mariam asked.

"Yes, but it's of no use," Tecna intervened. "They're bonded to Eraklyon, and Eraklyon has been corrupted by the Man in Black's power."

"That's why it's so important for Eraklyon to be liberated as soon as possible," Sky added. "We scored an important victory. Now it's time to strike."

"Not yet, Sky," Oritel said much to Sky's surprise. "If we attack Eraklyon now, it will result in a disaster. We don't know what kind of nasty surprise he has prepared for us, but I'm sure about one thing: he will be expecting us. That's why first we need to gather all the information we can about him and his source of power if we want to defeat him with minimal losses."

"Given than most of his forces are made of undead, we should gather information on them too," Mariam said. "And that Lich you told us about."

"Unfortunately there's very little information on the undead, since necromancy is forbidden magic," Musa said.

"Maybe they have something in Cloud Tower," Riven suggested. "I mean, they had pretty nasty stuff, like the Army of Darkness spell."

"Okay then, we will go back to Magix, and search for information about the enemy and how to defeat them at the three schools," Sky declared.

"But not now," Mariam said. "You should stay here a few days and rest. The Royal Palace will always be open for you."

The battle of Domino was over. The Man in Black had been defeated for the time being, but none of them could forget about his chilling ultimatum, and wondered what, and most importantly, when would be his next move.

…

The very next day the reconstruction of the Capital City of Domino began. Thanks to the monarch's foresight, there had been no civilian causalities. Still, they've lost quite a few soldiers and fairies. However, reports said that the Man in Black's losses were much heavier.

Watching the reconstruction from a balcony in the Royal palace was Mirta. She had told the others that she knew what happened to her the first time they went to the Forge of Wonders, and that she would leave the group for their sake. All of them told them to stay, that it wasn't her fault, but she still had to think about that.

On the one hand, she liked being with them. She bonded with all of them, and didn't want to break that bond. But on the other, if her presence put their lives at risk, then she would act selfishly.

There was also Marco. Despite their rocky beginnings, they grew to like each other so much that they even became a couple. He always inspired her to be braver and less jumpy and shy. She was surprised that he didn't see her as a monster when Gaul played that flashback. But hey, maybe she had underestimated her boyfriend.

"Mirta?" a male voice called to her.

Mirta turned around, and saw Marco there. He was looking at her with the stoic expression so characteristic of him.

"Oh, hi Marco... what do you want?"

"Well, I came here to see how you were... and what have you decided to do..." the Paladin said.

"I'm not sure yet," Mirta said, turning back to the balcony. "I don't want to leave like this, but I don't want to put anybody else's life in danger again because I have a power I cannot control."

"You know, I came for that too... what if I told you that there's a third option?"

Mirta turned back to him again, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Follow me."

Marco took Mirta to one of the palace's common rooms, where somebody else was waiting. A white haired woman wearing a long, loose white habit: Arthaia, Marco's mother.

"Mirta," Arthaia said, showing a pleasant smile. "Good to see that you're okay. I came here after I got a message from my son about something that happened to you."

"Did you... did you tell her about...?" Mirta asked.

"Yes, he did," Arthaia answered before her son could do it. "And you should thank him later for telling me about your... condition."

"Can you help me?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure that I can," Arthaia said. "Listen Mirta, from what I could deduce, you're afraid that the dark energy that you still have may get out of control, right?"

Mirta nodded in response.

"What if I told you that I can prevent that from happening?" Arthaia asked.

Mirta's eyes grew wide. "You... you can do that?"

"Come close to me, Mirta," Arthaia instructed. Mirta did so.

The older fairy placed a hand on Mirta's neck, and muttered a spell. Arthaia's hand glew pink, and Mirta felt her neck burning. When Arthaia took her hand away, there was a black mark on her neck shaped like a diamond with two half circles on each end.

"This is the Black Seal. It will block your dark energy as long as you don't want to use it," Arthaia explained.

"Really?" Mirta was jubilant.

"However, if you decide to use dark magic willingly, the seal the will be broken, so be careful."

"Don't worry, I will! Oh thanks Arthaia! Thanks Marco! You saved my life!"

Mirta embraced Marco and kissed him on the lips, but immediately stopped when she realized that Arthaia was still there.

"Hey, it's okay. I've been your age too," Arthaia said with a chuckle.

Suddenly, their badges beeped loudly.

"A message from Tecna," Mirta said as she checked her badge. "She summons us to the Forge, and said that something terrible has happened!"

"Let's go then," Marco said.

…

Meanwhile, back at Eraklyon, the Man in Black was with Gaul, discussing the result of the battle.

"Losses?"

"Only fifteen percent of our initial attack force managed to return to Eraklyon," the Lich said. "Seventy five percent were annihilated in the battle, and the fate of the remaining ten percent is unknown."

"Did our covert mission succeed?" the Man in black asked.

Gaul turned to a group of dark fairies standing behind them, and gestured one of them to come. The dark fairy gave the Man in Black what looked to be an electronic cartridge. He looked at it, pleased.

"Excellent. Despite our heavy losses, this makes up for them," the Man in Black said.

"But milord, we're now in a very vulnerable position. It will take us weeks to rebuild our forces. If they decided to attack.."

"They won't attack us now. They also suffered heavy loses, and will take some time to recover. However, in case I'm wrong, I have a backup plan that will keep those pesky fairies busy for a while."

The Man in Black then left. Soon the entire universe will know the extent of his diabolical genius.

* * *

**Author's note: well, this chapter was a bit shorter than usual, but I hope that all of you enjoyed it nevertheless. With this chapter, the Domino Arc is over, and I'm glad of that, since this arc was nothing but action and almost no character develpmnet or plot advancement, plus all the focus was on Bloom. However, it was an important part of the story and a turning point for Bloom's character development. Now I will be able to move onto more interesting parts of the story as well as focus on other characters, which fortunately will result in faster updates :)**

**Anyway, see you next chapter, and don't forget to review!**


	35. Let's Do Some Research

**Chapter 35: Let's Do Some Research**

Everybody rushed to the Forge in order to check on Tecna's distress call. Despite being in different parts of the city and the palace, everybody managed to get there rather quickly. Once the whole group was complete, Tecna told them what happened.

"It's the Forge. Somebody sabotaged it!" Tecna said, outraged. Her announcement was met with many exclamations of _What!?._

"Sabotaged? What do you mean, that it doesn't work anymore?" Aisha asked.

"That's exactly what I mean," Tecna said, shaking her head. "I cannot use my power and connect my mind to the Forge. It's like it's dead."

"How could this happen? My father kept the Forge heavily guarded after the last attack!" Bloom said.

"Plus the post-battle reports say that the Man in Black's army never reached this place," Sky said.

"Have you tried to repair it?" Riven asked.

"Yes, Timmy and I took a look at its inner circuitry to see what was wrong, and everything is either broken or burned."

"But... you can repair it, right?" Flora asked. "I've never seen anybody with a gift for machines like you."

"It's not that easy," Tecna said. "You see, the technology used to build the Forge is way more advanced than anything I've ever studied or even seen. Without the original blueprints, there's nothing I can do. And before you ask, no, I don't have the original blueprints, nor do I know where to find it. I thought of getting the blueprints by scanning the Forge and then reverse-engineering it, but that would have taken days." Tecna then realized of something. "But hey..." Tecna said as she pulled her badge. "...maybe there's somebody who does know."

Tecna fiddled with her badge, and projected an image of the original Master Craftsman.

"Who's that?" Sky asked.

"After finding the Forge, I started to look through its files to see if I could find something interesting, and I found this. It's a... well, to be honest, I don't know what it is."

"I'm an artificial intelligence based on the memory and personality of the Master Craftsman," the hologram said.

"Whoa, it speaks!" Stella said in fascination.

"It's a good thing I stored it in my badge, or else it would have been destroyed as well," Tecna said. "Anyway, I used it as a way to learn more about the Forge and our enemies, but so far I've gotten very little in the way of useful answers."

"Really? He reminds me of certain somebody..." Riven said with a sarcastic smile.

"It's good to see you again, Tecna," the Master Craftsman said. He then looked around and said. "Your friends, I presume."

Tecna nodded. "You see, Master, I summoned you for a very important reason. The Forge has been rendered completely unusable. I'm afraid I cannot repair it unless I can study its original blueprint. Do you know where I can find it?"

"You're assuming that there's a blueprint of the Forge somewhere," the hologram said.

"There has to be one. The Forge is your masterpiece, the work of your life. I'm sure you kept a copy of the blueprints somewhere in case something like this happened, but well hidden enough so not everybody could find it," Tecna said.

"You sound sure of yourself. How do you know that the Forge means so much to me? You merely deduced this by yourself."

"Yes, but I also heard your log," Tecna said. "Now please, this is a very urgent situation. Can you tell me where the blueprints are?"

"I could tell you, but it's not that easy," the Master Craftsman said. "The blueprints are hidden on Zenith."

"Excellent!" Tecna said as her face lit. "Where exactly?"

"As I told you three seconds ago, it's not that easy. First, you need to take me there. Once we're on Zenith, I'll give you further indications."

"Alright, see you on Zenith then," Tecna said as she switched her badge off. "You heard, everybody! Zenith will be our next stop! There's no time to waste!"

"You know Tecna, there's no need for all of us to go to Zenith," Aisha said.

That took Tecna aback. "What?"

"I didn't have time to tell you, but I've been talking with some of the girls and the guys, and we need to do some research on the Man in Black and his minions. I mean, whenever we clash, we suffer heavy losses regardless of the outcome of the battle, and we've almost lost our lives many times. The next time we fight we may not be so lucky."

Tecna tthought about the suggestion. "You speak the truth. So it seems that I'm going alone to Zenith, I guess."

"Hey, nobody said that you have to go alone," Timmy said. "I will go with you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Besides, I'm the only other here who has been there on more than one occasion, so I'll be able to help you to look better than anybody else." Timmy said.

"Then it's settled," Sky said. "Tecna and Timmy will go to Zenith and retrieve the blueprints of the Forge, and we will go back to Magix and find information about fighting the Man in Black and his undead minions. Maybe we can find a way to restore Eraklyon."

"Well, we better get another spaceship," Tecna said. "Since you will need the _Prometheus_ more than we do."

"You can take my starfighter," Marco intervened. "It's a bit old, but it can take you to Zenith in very little time, and it has two seats. I would ask if you know how to fly it, but since you built that huge spaceship, I'm not going to."

Tecna smiled proudly.

...

The next day, everybody packed their stuff and left Domino to return to Magix. Tecna and Timmy left on Marco's starfighter for Zenith. Almost nobody talked during the short trip back to Magix, except to decide what to do: they would split into three groups and head towards Alfea, Cloud Tower and Red Fountain and check what their vast libraries could offer.

Bloom, Stella, Musa and Aisha went to Alfea. Unlike other times they were there, the library of Alfea was rather crowded. Then they remembered that exams week would be soon. Their presence didn't go unnoticed, since the Winx became more famous with each adventure they had, and the younger fairies began to whisper in excitement upon seeing them. Still, the younger fairies didn't bother them.

"You know, I was thinking that this library would give us some answers, given the numerous times it has been attacked," Aisha commented as she skimmed through a book.

"Well, there are still plenty of books we haven't read yet, " Musa said as she read another book. "We have to be patient."

"Yeah, that's the problem. We don't know when the Man in Black is going to attack again. We need to find some useful information as soon as possible."

"I have an idea," Stella said. "Why don't we look for the information we need on the internet? "

"Stella, not all information can be found on the internet," Aisha replied. "Some things, such as the knowledge within these books, can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and as such must be kept away from the general public."

"I see," Stella said. She pondered for a few more moments, and asked. "And what about the books so dangerous that not even full fledged fairies like us are allowed to see them? Where are those kept?"

"I don't think such books exist," Aisha said doubtfully. "Alfea is the most prestigious and ancient fairy school, that's why it has such a big and complete library."

"But you guys said that necromancy is forbidden, and that not even witches from Storm Tower-"

"Cloud Tower."

"...the witches from Cloud tower can learn it," Stella said, scratching her head. "Where do you keep books like that?"

"From what I know, all records on forbidden magic are destroyed to prevent anybody from learning such powers," Musa said. "But now they would come in handy. All I read here about fighting undead is that they're weak against light and fire."

"Something we already knew," Aisha said.

"And there's absolutely nothing about Lich," Musa continued. Then she turned to Bloom, who had been silent most of the time. "Bloom, did you find anything?"

"Uh?" Bloom said as if she just snapped from a dream. "N-no, nothing at all."

Aisha looked at Bloom more closely and asked: "Bloom, are you alright?"

"No, no... I'm alright. I'm a bit tired, that's all. I haven't recovered all the energy I used during the battle with the Man in Black."

"Do you want to stop for a rest?" Musa offered.

"No, no, this is too important, we must continue."

Aisha frowned. "Listen Bloom, I'm really good at reading people, and it's crytal clear to me that you're not alright," she then turned to Stella and said. "Stella, why don't you take Bloom outside? Maybe some fresh air will help her."

"Sure!" Stella said cheerfully. "Come on Bloom!"

Bloom was going to protest, but she gave up and let Stella take her out.

"Wonder what happened to her," Musa said. "Bloom is usually so energetic..."

"I'm pretty sure it has to do something with the Man in Black," said Aisha.

"Do you think he cursed her in some way?"

"No, not that. The other time Bloom behaved in a such subdued way was when our search for her parents reached a dead end a couple years ago. Maybe the Man in Black revealed something about her or her homeworld, or something else that broke her spirit. We should make her tell us."

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," Musa said, shaking her head. "It's probably for the better if we wait until she feels ready to share whatever troubles her with us. Let's not rush things."

"If you say so..."

The two fairies were about to resume her investigation when they were approached by another girl. They realized that she was Galatea, the princess of Melody.

"Musa! Aisha! It's so great to see you again!" Galatea said in joy, but not too loudly since they were still in a library. "What brings you here?"

"We're looking for information about the Man in Black and his undead servant," Aisha said.

"The skeleton wizard who almost killed me?" Galatea asked bitterly.

"The very one," Musa said.

"Then let me help you!" Galatea said. "There are too many books for just you two!"

"We can't ask you to do such a thing," Aisha replied. "What about your exams?"

"This is more important!"

"Not to undermine your offer, but your help alone will only make our research go a little faster, and you will fail your exams."

"Who said I'm the only one who's going to help?" Galatea then turned around to the rest of the library, and said: "Listen everybody! Musa and Aisha, members of the Winx Club, are looking for information about the Man in Black! I'm pretty sure you know who he is, since he has appeared on the news many times. Let's help them out!"

Much to Musa and Aisha's amazement, all the girls in the library stopped what they were doing, scattered around the many sections and began to gather books that may contain useful information for the Winx's quest.

"Well, I guess being famous has its perks," Musa said with a smirk.

…

Meanwhile, at Red Fountain, Sky, Brandon, Nabu and Riven were gathering information from the library there, but they were having about as much success as their girlfriends at Alfea. However, since Red Fountain was a military school, most of the subjects taught there had a practical exam instead of a written one, and the few subjects which had the latter were pretty simple, like maths or history.

"This is useless!" Sky said as he closed a book. "We've been here for hours and haven't found anything remotely useful yet!"

"Calm down Sky. There are still plenty of books to read," Nabu said.

"Most books here are about warfare," Brandon said. "They say nothing about fighting undead. That's silly. If I remember correctly, the Ancient Witch Coven had plenty of necromancers among their ranks, right?"

"Necromancy was a forbidden art, and as such they try to avoid discussion of it as much as possible," Nabu explained. "So it's hard to find a book that even mentions it."

"We've reached a dead end," Sky said, shaking his head.

"Maybe we should approach this from a different point of view," Nabu said. "Saladin is a veteran of the war against the Ancient Witches, maybe he can be of some help."

"I don't think he'll have time to help us, since he has to oversee some of the exams," Brandon said. "Anyway, I'm tired and hungry. Do you guys want to go to the cafeteria? Maybe we can think better after eating something."

Sky and Nabu nodded. He repeated his suggestion to Riven, but all he got in return was a loud snore. Nabu coudln't help but smirk.

"Now that's what I call hard work," Sky said sarcastically. "Come on, let's go. Good bye, sleeping beauty."

…

After falling asleep of pure boredom, Riven awoke again in the Dreamland. It had been a few weeks since the last time he was there, and he hoped that he hadn't returned to that sickeningly colorful place.

"Hello Riven," Matlin's melodic voice said. "I was wondering if I would see you again."

"I'd say that I felt the same, but I don't want to tell such big lies," Riven replied as he rubbed his temples.

"And here I thought I was starting to grow on you."

"Nothing personal, but my aversion for the living dead hasn't diminished a bit."

"Oh, how dare you to compare me with those walking corpses you fight!" Matlin said, offended, and crossed her arms and turned her back to him. "And here I was going to share some useful information with you!"

"You have useful information? Now that's something new!"

"I do, but I'm not going to tell you now," Matlin said without looking at him.

"Come on, don't act like a child," Riven said in a half-apologetic tone. But Matlin didn't answer. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" But he still got no answer. "Oh, what do I have to do?"

"Promise me that you won't be so rude. To both me and Musa."

"I'm not rude to Musa," Riven said. But when he saw Matlin's scowl, he said: "Okay, I promise."

"Good, and you better keep that promise, or I'll haunt you in your nightmares!" Matlin said as she waved her arms in a theatrical way, then she chuckled.

Riven groaned. "Okay, what do you have for me?"

"You have to see that red-headed fairy,"

"Bloom?"

"No, the other one; who used to be a witch."

"Mirta?"

"Yes, Mirta. Ask her about the Oracle of the Swamp."

"That's it?"

"That's all she needs to hear."

"This better be good, or else..."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will help, Matlin reassured him with a warm smile. "Oh, and remember your promise! In fact, after you do that, I also want you to go to Musa and tell her how much you love her, okay? Now wake up!"

Matlin poked Riven's forehead, and he was again in Red Fountain. He was alone.

"Some friends you are," Riven scoffed as he stood up. "I better get my wind rider."

…

Meanwhile, Flora, Mirta, Helia, and Marco were in the Cloud Tower library. Lucy and a couple other witches were helping them as well.

"This is the last one," a blond witch said as she placed a book on a table. "Can I go back to studying? Exams will be soon."

"Yes, Rachel, thanks for your help," Lucy said.

Unlike their friends, Cloud Tower had plenty of information about the undead and the Dark Lords of Thaluskan, the ancient civilization the Man in Black belonged to.

Flora looked at the pile of books in front of them. "I thought that necromancy was forbidden magic. Why do you have so many books on the matter?"

"So you can learn how to fight against the undead? Like those who are ravaging the entire Magical Dimension?" Lucy retorted.

"Touché," Marco said with a shrug.

"I know they ordered Griffin to destroy all the books like these but Griffin thought they could have some positive use," Lucy explained.

"Well, that and the fact that witches were never too fond of following orders, right?" Mirta said with a smile.

"Hey, Griffin had a point in saving these books, right?"

"The Man in Black was a fearsome foe, but after reading this he is even more dreadful," Marco said as he showed the book he was reading to the others. "Those Dark Lords created a vast empire which was mostly sustained by slavery. For them, a quick death was what they understood for mercy, and they used to turn their conquered enemies into their slaves as a way to humiliate them and show their power."

"But they were defeated, right?" Flora asked. "Doesn't that book say anything about their downfall?"

"It says here that their empire became more and more decadent over the centuries, and it became weaker and smaller until they were finally wiped out."

"Well, we can't wait centuries until the Man in Black becomes decadent," Helia said. "Did you find something less... long term?"

Marco shook his head in response. "It says that these guys were pretty much unstoppable. They had a source of power that made them nearly invincible. I think it's talking about the Eye of Oblivion, the artifact Gaul and his minions took from the Forge the first time we went there, remember?"

"Yeah, I've been looking for information on that too, but it isn't even mentioned in all the books about ancient artifacts," Flora said.

"That artifact made my dark magic monstrously powerful," Mirta said, a bit sad. "Guys, I'm afraid to say it, but I think that maybe the Man in Black hasn't unlocked its full potential yet, and when he does..."

"We won't have a chance against him?" Lucy asked

"Let's be positive. We fought that guy many times, and the last time he didn't do anything new. Maybe we've already seen the full extent of his powers,". Flora said.

"As much as I'd love to agree with you, I'm afraid that in a situation like this one, it's required to be as cautious as possible, and to think the worst," Helia said.

"Okay..." Flora admitted in defeat. Even if she hated the pessimistic attitude, she had to concede that her boyfriend had a point. "Did you find anything on undead or the Lich?"

"I think I have," Mirta said. She opened a book, and everybody came close to her to read it better. "This book talks about the most important necromantic covens of history, but there's one that drew my attention."

"The Shadowmoon Coven?"

"It's one of the most ancient covens which were active before the war against the Ancestresses. Plus, it was also the only one who refused to join them," Mirta continued to read.

"What happened with them?" Helia asked.

"They disappeared shortly after the war ended and necromancy was declared forbidden magic. They were presumably destroyed by the three Ancient Witches, and their few survivors scattered across the universe."

"So, you're telling us that our best chance to learn more about Gaul and his powers is to find one of those few survivors? Great Dragon, I love challenges but this is too much..." Marco groaned.

"Really? When did the mighty paladin lose his spine?" Riven's voice said as the specialist walked in.

"Hey Riven, what are you doing here? Weren't you at Red Fountain? Helia asked.

"Yes, I was. And now I'm here," Riven said. Then he turned at Mirta, and asked: "Mirta, do you know about someone or something called the Oracle of the Swamp?"

Both Mirta and Lucy looked at him with their eyes widened.

"Where did you hear that?" Lucy asked him in disbelief.

"That's not important. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes, I believe so," Mirta said. "The Oracle of the Swamp is a legend of our home world, Casyopea. There's a place called the Green Swamp, and the legend says that there's an oracle living there that knows everything."

"Many people looked for him, but only a few of them managed to find him. Or that's what some people claim," Lucy said. "The legend also says that you won't find the Oracle unless the Oracle wants to be found. Now tell us Riven, where did you hear that name?"

"I heard it in a dream. Happy now?" Riven said, and crossed his arms.

"Wait, are you suggesting to go and find that Oracle and ask him about the Man in Black?" Marco asked. "We don't know if he even exists!"

"The Winx and I have embarked on many quests to find an item that only existed in legends and turned out to be real," Flora intervened. "Besides, if Riven heard about the Oracle in a dream, maybe that means that he wants to be found by us. We shouldn't ignore this."

"Well, it's not like we were making any progress here, so if you want to go to Casyopea, count me in," Marco said with a shrug.

"I'll tell the others," Helia said as he pulled out his Winx Badge.

…

Meanwhile, far from there, Tecna and Timmy were about to enter Zenith's flight control zone.

"Ugh, Marco told me that his starfighter was a bit outdated, but that's stretching the term a lot!" Tecna complained. "I can't believe this thing can still fly!"

"Not everybody values technological progress as much as you or your people do," Timmy interjected. "For example, people from Linphea value attunement with nature, and people from Lumyon prefer to live more spiritual lives."

"Still, I would die of shame if somebody saw the Guardian Fairy of Zenith arriving in this flying kettle," Tecna complained.

"Now that's a side of you I didn't know about, Tec," Timmy said with a smile.

"Let's see if I can cast an illusion spell to make this thing look more advanced," Tecna said as she concentrated. "And once we're done here, I'm going to give this piece of junk the hardware update it needs!"

Still, despite all the whining, Tecna was excited. Not just for returning to her home world, but because soon she would be one of the few people who knew the Forge's secrets.

Secrets that, unbeknownst to her, were already in the hands of her enemies.

* * *

**Author's note: Oh my god! Two updates in the same month? What's going on? Haha, I already told you that now that I got the most boring part of the story out of the way, it would be easier for me to write, especially now when we delve (in my opinion) into one of the most interesting parts of the story. Anyway, I hope that you're ready to see Mirta and Lucy's planet, as well as a bit of Zenith.**

**Don't forget to review! I'm a review whore, and the more reviews I get, the more inspired I am to write! ;)**


	36. The Digital Fortress

**Author's note: sorry for the long delay, I kind of blocked again writing this chapter, since it turned out to be harder to write than I expected. Anyway, hope you enjoy it:**

**Chapter 36: The Digital Fortress**

After leaving Marco's starfighter at the spaceport, Tecna and Timmy entered Server City, the capital of Zenith and also Tecna's home town.

"Ah, it feels so good to be home again, even if it's briefly," Tecna said as she stretched her arms. "Too bad the rest of the girls couldn't come. After staying on so many different planets, I wish I could have the chance to show the others my wonderful home world."

"Well, just think that whenever we went to those other planets it's because there was some sort of danger looming over them, with the exception of Lumyon," Timmy pointed out.

"Ah, touché," Tecna said.

"If it makes you happy, we can convince the others to come here for a few days," Timmy suggested.

"That would be great. Hell, that almost makes me want to go to Eraklyon and defeat the Man in Black and his army all by myself. Too bad such a thing is positively foolish and suicidal." Tecna said with a smile.

They boarded a small automatic shuttle that would take them downtown in matter of minutes. Timmy looked through the shuttle's wide windows to the magnificent sight that was Server City: the whole city was formed by incredibly tall skyscrapers, to the point that the ground was almost invisible. The buildings were connected through wide roads at different height levels, and flying cars and shuttles flew between the roads. Despite the fact it wasn't the first time the orange haired specialist had visited his girlfriend's world, it never ceased to amaze him.

After leaving the transport shuttle, Tecna pulled out her Winx Badge, and activated the Master Craftsman's image.

"We're on Zenith," Tecna informed him.

The image of the Craftsman looked around first, and then turned back at Tecna.

"Yes, this is Zenith. It's even more beautiful than what I envisioned," the Craftsman said with joy.

"Can you tell us now where can we find the blueprints of the Forge?" Timmy asked.

"You're certainly eager to get your hands on my precious masterpiece, don't you?" the Craftsman asked. "It's okay. It's good to see young ones like you two interested in the marvels of technology. As long as you don't plan to use them for malicious purposes. Loading coordinates."

Tecna and Timmy waited patiently for a moment for the craftsman to reveal the location of the blueprints. When he finally revelaed it, Tecna was startled in surprise.

"You have to be kidding me!" Tecna said in amazement.

"What? Are those coordinates meaningful to you?" Timmy asked.

"They couldn't be more meaningful. That's the flat block where I live."

…

Meanwhile, back at Cloud Tower, Mirta was sparring against Lucy and Flora, mostly to check how the Black Seal had limited her magical abilities. The first thing Mirta noticed is that her energy bolts were now light purple instead of blood red, but that was just the first and most insignificant change Mirta had to face. After fifteen minutes of fighting, Mirta wanted to stop.

"Can we rest a bit?" Mirta asked, gasping a little.

"Tired so fast?" Lucy asked, and quirked an eyebrow. "Well, let's hope your enemies get tired before you do."

Lucy was right. Mirta was more resistant than this. However, the cause of her fatigue was quite obvious.

"Now I realize I unconsciously channeled dark magic to power up my attacks and as a form of physical support," Mirta explained. "If I try to make my attacks as strong as they were before, I run out of energy too quickly."

"You'll get less tired over time. It's like physical exercise," Flora said.

"Yes, but I don't have enough time to be at your level!" Mirta said. "Ugh, to be a deadly menace or to be a liability, what a choice."

"I still don't get it. I mean, you're an Enchantix fairy. That's like being among the best fairies in terms of power, right?" Lucy asked.

"It's not that easy. I've never stopped used dark magic, even if all my teachers discouraged it. Now I see why."

"Was the transition from witch to fairy that hard for you?"

"It's hard to drop a habit."

"You still have Arthaia's technique. Drawing power from your homeworld," Flora said.

"Well, it's kinda hard to think of all the good memories of my childhood when I'm fighting a crazy undead wizard who wants to kill me. I have used that too, but it's too time consuming."

"Then you'll have to find a way to make it faster."

"What technique are you talking about?" Lucy asked, intrigued.

"When we were at Lumyon, one of the Company of the Light veterans taught us how we could draw power from our homeworlds, since we're magically linked to the planet we're born on," Flora explained.

"Sounds promising," Lucy said. "It is possible for a witch to learn that?"

"I don't know," Mirta said. "But I don't know why a witch couldn't learn to do that."

"If you want, you can learn that technique while Mirta and I review the basics," Flora said. Lucy nodded in agreement.

First they repeated the same exercise they did with Arthaia, sitting with their legs crossed, recalling their best memories of their home planet. Lucy had some troubles with it.

"It's no surprise," Lucy said, shaking her head, upon failing to get the desired result. "We're trained to use our negative emotions, not our positive ones."

"Don't give up so easily, Lucy," Flora said, trying to cheer the green haired witch. "I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

"Juggling your negative emotions with your positive ones is something incredibly hard to do. Unless you're bipolar, that's it," Lucy remarked, getting a chuckle from both Mirta and Flora.

"We still have plenty of time to train. I'm sure the Man in Black won't attack again so soon," Flora said.

"We?"

"Well, it's that... since we're going back to Casyopea, I thought that maybe you could come with us," Mirta said.

"It would be great if you said yes," Flora added

Lucy looked at Flora, grimaced, and quirked an eyebrow. "You fairies really want a witch to tag along with you?"

"Of course! Besides, we haven't done anything together in a while, Lucy," Mirta said.

"Okay," Lucy said. "But I better get something good for helping you!"

"Saving the universe isn't enough of a reward?" Flora asked.

"...you still have a lot to learn about witches."

…

Meanwhile, on Zenith, Tecna and Timmy arrived at Tecna's house. Tecna pressed her thumb against a small panel near the door, and the door hissed open.

"Hello! Mom? Dad? I'm here! Sorry I didn't call you in advance!" Tecna called, but no one replied. "Guess they aren't home yet."

Tecna didn't notice, but Timmy sighed in relief.

Tecna's house was a three room flat. It cointained numerous items, from books to holographic pictures, to artisitc objects such as vases and statues (Zenithians weren't known for their artists, but they still appreciated art ). Everything was tidy and perfectly organized. Of course, the whole house was also completely computerized, and every wall had an interactive screen where the user could control the house. The walls also had wide windows, that revealed the gorgeous Server City, filled with its flying vehicles.

"Greetings: Welcome to your home, Miss Tecna," a synthesized voice said, startling Timmy.

A robot walked towards them. It was blue, had a humanoid shape, and was almost two meters tall. Three green photoreceptors in his face acted as eyes.

"Oh, hello Kevin," Tecna said casually.

"Kevin?" Timmy asked.

"My fourth grade science project. Won the first place award, " Tecna said proudly.

"Question: What are you doing here, Miss Tecna? We didn't get any notice of your coming," Kevin asked.

"We came here to retrieve an item of utmost importance," Tecna explained. "Speaking of which..." Tecna said as she pulled her badge again, and activated the Master Craftsman holographic file. "Master, we're at the designated coordinates."

The Master Craftsman looked around Tecna's house as if he was familiar with it and nodded.

"Good, now you must take three trials in order to prove that you're worthy of my knowledge," the holographic figure said. "The first trial is the Trial of the Mind, that will test your knowledge, wisdom, inventiveness and creativity. This trial is simple, yet hard. Find the door that leads to the place where the blueprints are hidden. I won't say good luck, since luck won't help you." And the hologram shut down.

"Okay, I'm 99% sure there is a secret door within the apartment complex," Tecna said. ""We only need to download the building plans and study them."

They began to work immediately (and even enlisted Kevin's help), but no matter how much they studied the plans, they couldn't find anything remotely close to a secret door, a hidden passageway, or a teleportation device. Frustration began to eat them from within.

"Ugh, I don't get it! Where is that secret door?" Tecna said in frustration. She really hated to find a problem she couldn't solve.

"Maybe the coordinates are wrong," Timmy suggested.

"I don't think so," Tecna said, shaking her head. "There would be no reason for the Master Craftsman to lie to us."

Tecna knew that there was a reason for the Craftsman to lie them, and that reason was that he'd never want anybody to acquire the knowledge to create another Forge. But if that was the case, why did he bother to hide the blueprints instead of destroying all the copies? It wasn't logical.

"I was as surprised as you when the hideout of the Forge's blueprints was your house. Wasn't that a bit too convenient?" Timmy asked.

"The Craftsman didn't know that I lived here, if you are suggesting that he gave us a false lead. The probability of the blueprints being hidden at my house were minimal."

"Maybe he knew that you would live here," Timmy suggested.

"That's impossible. The Craftsman couldn't see the future," Tecna said, but the idea didn't leave her mind. "Could he?"

"Who knows," Timmy said with a shrug. "The Master Craftsman was a man with a power and knowledge far beyond ours. It wouldn't be surprising if he could foresee this very moment."

"Then he could have made things a little easier," Tecna said, annoyed.

"Maybe we aren't approaching this in the right way..." Timmy muttered.

"Do you have an idea?"

"Yes. Remember that spell you use to store physical objects in cyberspace?" Timmy asked, and Tecna immediately realized what he was talking about, but she let him finish. "What if this gate isn't a conventional gate, but a gate to another dimension? Remember that the Craftsman knew how to create pocket dimensions. Maybe there is a pocket dimension here."

"That sounds logical. But we still have the same problem: how are we going to open the door to that

dimension?" Tecna inquired.

"Yeah, it's not as if we could ask the Master Craftsman to show that gate to us."

Tecna's eyes lit with realization. "Or maybe we can."

"What?"

"Timmy, if the Master Craftsman created its own secret, pocket dimension, there's no way for us to open it. The most logical option would be to ask him to open it for us," and she pulled out her badge again.

"It seems that you're still here," the Craftsman observed. "Giving up already?"

"That word isn't in my vocabulary," Tecna said with a smirk. "The blueprints aren't here, as in in this physical plane of existence. There's no way you could have hidden something for so many millennia and nobody find it. That's why you hid it in a pocket dimension, am I right?"

"Impressive deduction skills, dear," the hologram praised. "But you haven't found the gate yet."

"I know. We were hoping that you would open it for us," Tecna said.

"And why I would do such a thing?"

"Because we have no means to open that gate, only you can," Timmy said. "When you don't know something, you ask somebody who does know it. That's a way of learning."

"Wise words, indeed," the master Craftsman said, before becoming silent again. Tecna bit her lip. Did that mean that he was going to open the gate? "Congratulations, you passed the first trial. Let me take you to the next one."

A green light came from the Craftsman, and engulfed the whole room and everybody in it.

…

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of Alfea, Bloom and Stella went for a stroll. The courtyard was completely empty and silent, since most fairies in training were at the library studying for the upcoming exam. Bloom was certainly thankful for the relative solitude of the place.

"Do you feel any better?" Stella asked in a low voice, almost a whisper.

"I think so..." Bloom sighed, and he looked at the sky.

"Did something happened to you on Domino? You've been quite depressed since we were there."

"Well it's... it's a long story. Do you remember how we liberated Domino?"

Stella nodded in response. She then sat on a nearby bench, and said. "But I'd love to hear it. Mirta told me that I have to awake all my memories whenever I can. Come on, tell me," Stella said as she patted a spot next to her. Bloom sat down and began her story.

"You see, shortly after I was born, Domino was attacked by the Ancestral Witches. Long story short, the witches did not get what they wanted, but my parents and many of its inhabitants were dragged to a dark place named Obsidian, and Domino became a frozen wasteland. However, my older sister Daphne sent me to Earth before I could be harmed. Earth is a place with no magic, by the way.

"For sixteen years I lived thinking that I was a normal girl, until I met you," Stella raised an eyebrow at being mentioned. "And you revealed to me that I was a fairy. Not long after that, the Trix – we already told you about them- told me about my past. I always knew that there was some part of me missing, and that revelation made it crystal clear. So all of us embarked on a quest to restore Domino and save my parents, which we did. And then..." Bloom was unable to continue from that point.

"Were you afraid that The Man in Black would destroy your world and family again?" the blond fairy asked.

"Yes but... it's not just that," Bloom said, shaking her head. "After we did all that, I thought that my life was complete. But it's not. I still feel that some part of myself is missing. The Man in Black... he told me horrible things... that I only restored Domino and saved my parents for my own egotistical reasons..."

"And you believe him!? That's not true!" Stella protested.

"Yes, it's true," Bloom said, her eyes full of sadness. "I already knew it deep inside, but refused to accept it. I only went on that quest because I felt incomplete, because I just wanted to know about my past, to know what kind of life I could have lived if Domino hadn't been destroyed. If that hadn't been the case, my birth parents would be trapped at Obsidian and Domino would still be a frozen wasteland. The Man in Black forced me to accept that."

There was a moment of silent. Stella wanted to comfort Bloom, but she knew that she couldn't say the first thing that came to her mind.

"You know Bloom, if it's any consolation to you... sometimes I feel the same way," Stella said.

"What do you mean?"

"I also lost part of myself. I feel that my head is full of empty spaces. I filled some of those spaces with Mirta's help but... there's still a lot to know. For example, it's obvious that this school is really meaningful to you, as it should be to me, but... I only feel a vague sense of familiarity when I'm here. But... well, when I think of what all of you have done for me, I feel much better."

"Oh Stella, I'm so sorry," Bloom said, shaking her head. "Here I am, moping about my issues, when you had it much worse. You must think I'm an idiot."

"No, I don't," Stella replied in a soft voice. "I think that you're just confused, like I am sometimes. But we can cope with this together."

"Thank you Stella, I don't know what I would do without you," Bloom said as she hugged her best friend. The blond fairy gently hugged her back

…

Tecna and Timmy weren't in Tecna's house anymore. In fact, they doubted they were still on Zenith. Or even in the same dimension. Both of them were now on an asteroid in the middle of space. There was a lmassive citadel build on the asteroid. Both noticed that, despite being in space, they could breathe perfectly well. Also, Tecna was no longer in her normal clothes; she was in her Enchantix form.

Suddenly, another figure appeared in front of them. It was the Master Craftsman.

"Welcome, Tecna and Timmy, to the Digital Fortress. This is your second trial, the Trial of Strength. As you've surely guessed, the blueprints of the Forge are hidden here. Surpass all the challenges the Citadel will throw at you, and you will complete the trial. Let's begin!"

With a wave of his hand, the main door of the citadel opened.

"I'm ready!" Tecna said with determination, as she walked in.

"Yeah, me too," Timmy said as he followed her.

Tecna and Timmy fought their way through the Digital Fortress. As she had expected, the enemies were mere robots that easily fell under Tecna's magic and Timmy's guns. As they progressed, their enemies became progressively stronger, but they still weren't a challenge for the fairy and specialist duo. After much fighting, they reached a room devoid of any enemies. An image of the Master Craftsman appeared before them.

"So far, you've been doing great, but you won't defeat the last enemy with mere brute force," the Craftsman advised. "Are you ready?"

"We haven't come this far to back away now," Timmy replied.

"Yeah, there's no challenge we cannot overcome!" Tecna added.

"Brave words. Let's put them to test," the Craftsman said before snapping his fingers.

Tecna and Timmy's final enemies appeared before them. Much to their surprise, their enemies were copies of themselves. Not exactly copies, as they were black-and-white, had glowing red eyes and an aura of darkness around them.

"Evil versions of ourselves. Should have seen that coming," Tecna said as she placed a hand on her hip.

The moment the Craftsman's image disappeared, a fight broke out.

"Electric Storm!" Tecna said, casting green electric bolts.

"Digital Annihilation!" Dark Tecna said, casting the same attack as Tecna, expect that the lightning bolts were purple.

Both attacks clashed against each other, pushing back and forth, but neither of them gained the upper hand. Meanwhile, Dark Timmy pulled out two guns which, as expected, were identical to those Hagen gave Timmy back on Domino, and fired several rapid shots at him. Timmy was forced to run since there was nothing in the room that could be used for cover. Tecna noticed her boyfriend in trouble, and she quickly cast a protective shield around him. However this caused her electric beam to grow weaker, and thus was overwhelmed by the beam of Tecna's evil clone. Tecna was blown away by the attack, but she managed to raise another shield for herself to cushion the blast.

The evil clones weren't going to give them a single second to rest. Dark Timmy fired his guns again, this time a salvo of rockets that flew in arcs towards Tecna and Timmy. However, that proved to be a mistake, since Tecna used her magic to stop the missiles in mid air, and turn them back at her enemies. Dark Tecna tried the same tactic, but Tecna's control of the missiles was nearly unbreakable, and thus was forced to blast them away with lightning bolts. Dark Tecna prepared her next attack.

"Global Corruption!" Dark Tecna shouted.

The dark fairy cast purple energy waves that caused Tecna and Timmy to become dizzy. Tecna tried to counterattack, but was unable to focus. Dark Timmy shot a new round of missiles at Tecna. Timmy stood between Tecna and the enemies, and countered the wave of missiles making his guns shoot air shockwaves.

"He wasn't kidding when he said we would need something more than brute force," Timmy said, gasping for air. "Never thought we were so tough!"

Timmy helped Tecna to stand up. She used fairy dust to remove the harmful effect of her evil clone's spell.

"This is also a test of our intelligence, not just our power," Tecna deduced. "Our enemies are exactly as powerful as we are and have access to the same weapons and abilities we do. We need to create an advantage if we plan to win."

"You can't beat us," Dark Timmy taunted. "We know you better than anybody else. We know your limitations and weak points... and how to use them to our advantage."

"What's wrong? Feeling tired already?" Dark Tecna mocked. "Maybe this will charge you up!"

Dark Tecna cast several purple lightning bolts at Tecna and Timmy, but the fairy of technology was quick enough to cast a protective shield around them that stopped the attack. Suddenly, Timmy had a moment of realization.

"Tecna, you protected me!" Timmy said.

"Yes, and you protected me before. That's how we fight. Hadn't you realized it yet?" Tecna asked a bit exasperated.

"No! I mean yes! Gah! I mean that I realized that, while we fight together, taking care of each other, our evil clones do not!" Timmy said. "That's our advantage! We can fight together, but they don't!"

Tecna's face lit with realization, feeling a bit stupid for not seeing that herself. "Timmy, you're a genius! Now I can see how we can defeat them: with a convergence spell!"

"Really? How? None of the other Winx are here; just me, and I don't have any magic," Timmy said.

"No, but you have a pair of high-tech guns, and I'm the fairy of technology, remember?" and without further ado, Tecna generated cables from her hands that attached to Timmy's guns. The guns suddenly grew in size and transformed into cannons. Tecna began to channel her magic power into the guns. "Timmy, I'll need you to aim and pull the trigger, okay?"

"You can count on me, Tec."

Energy particles began to gather forming a glowing, green sphere of energy at the end of each cannon.

The evil Tecna and Timmy, seeing what their good counterparts were going to do, quickly released all their arsenal against them, but there was nothing they could do to stop their demise.

"DUAL PROTON CRUSHER!" Tecna and Timmy shouted in unison.

The two canons fired huge laser beams that illuminated the entire place with a green light, engulfing their dark clones' attacks, and obliterating them into nothingness. They had won.

Tecna was exhausted, but she didn't revert back to her civilian form. That extrange dimension wouldn't let her.

The Master Craftsman appeared before them once more.

"Congratulations for your victory. You should feel proud of yourselves, for you have passed the second trial, the Trial of Strength. Now only one last trial stands before you and your prize!"

"Aw, come on, another trial? Didn't you see what we did?" Timmy complained.

The Craftsman waved his hand, revealing an opening door.

"Your last trial lies behind that door. Once you complete it, call me and I'll send you back to your dimension with the item you came looking for. Good luck" and disappeared.

Tecna and Timmy entered in the last room of the digital fortress. A cartridge that both of them deduced had the blueprints of the Forge within stood on a pedestal, waiting for them. They also noticed something written on the pedestal.

"Let me read that," Tecna said, and drew her head closer. "_Here is the original design of the Forge of Wonders, for anybody to take. If you reached here, that means that you passed the trials of Mind and Strength, but have yet to pass the greatest trial, the Trial of the Heart. Whoever picks up this cartridge from its pedestal must make a sacrifice, and never leave this place again. _What? But that means that...that..."

"That only one of us will be allowed to return," Timmy said what Tecna was unable to.

"Oh, now I see it!" Tecna said with a smile. "It was like that time we had to get the Water Stars. We were asked to make a sacrifice, but it was just a secret test of our character. I'm pretty sure that the Craftsman won't leave either of us here."

Tecna was about to grab the cartridge, but Timmy grabbed her hand first.

"Tecna, no," Timmy said, his voice full of concern. "You don't know that for sure."

"I'm 100% sure," Tecna protested.

"Then you won't mind if I pick it up instead," Timmy said.

"Don't you dare!" Tecna said in a menacing voice.

"What are you afraid of? You're 100% sure that this is just a test, right? Then you have nothing to fear."

"Well, maybe not 100% ... maybe that's stretching the probabilities a bit... still, you should let me..."

"No, you have to go back. You are much more valuable than me."

"Because I have magic powers? That's nonsense! I won't leave you here!"

"Let's face it, Tecna. You can be of more help in the fight against the Man in Black than me. And we need the Forge."

"No Timmy, I won't do that! When I was lost in Omega, you were the only one who didn't leave me for dead, the only one who didn't abandon me! And I won't abandon you either!"

"But what else we can do? One of us has to pick that cartridge, and there's only you and me here!" Timmy said.

"I know, but-" Tecna suddenly became silent as another realization formed in her mind. "Actually, it's not just you and me. There's something else here. Master Craftsman!"

The Master Craftsman appeared before her. "Did you call? Oh, you haven't finished the Trial yet. Do you want to go back without it?"

"No, I was actually wondering if you could pick up the cartridge for us," Tecna asked.

The Craftsman smiled. "Very clever. But whoever picks this cartridge, will have to spend eternity here. Will you sacrifice me so lightly?"

"You're not a living being, just the shadow of one. A bunch of binary files and data put together."

"Yes but... once I pick up the cartridge, you will never see me again. All my secrets, my knowledge, will be forever lost. Think of all the lives you could save."

"I won't change my mind. That knowledge can be rediscovered, even if we take centuries to do so. And if I need to sacrifice somebody to save people, then I'm not deserving of being a fairy."

The Crafstman picked up the cartridge, and placed it in Tecna's hand.

"Congratulations, you passed the Trial of Heart. The secrets of the Forge are yours. Use them well."

And with one last hand wave, the Craftsman returned Tecna and Timmy to Zenith.

* * *

**Author's note: if there's something I learn about myself writing this story is that I love to write about Tecna, as you probably guessed by now. It also made me realize how much I like her. But hopefully she won't become a spotlight stealer, since there are plenty of other characters in this story, waiting to be developed and explored.**

**We also saw what was troubling Bloom. Will she overcome her issues? Only time will say!**

**In the next chapter, the group plus Lucy travel to Mirta and Lucy's homeworld in order to find the mysterious oracle. We will also meet Mirta's parents, and learn more about Mirta's family, and witches in general. Be sure to read it. And thanks everybody for your kind reviews!  
**


	37. The Witch World

**Author's note: Sorry once again for taking so long to update, but I'm in the middle of an epic writer's block, plus I have lost a lot of interest in Winx Club (Season 5 only made this worse). Anyway, I want to make clear that I'm not going to abandon this story until it's finished, no matter how much time I take to write new chapters. Hopefully I'll find a way to rekindle my interest in the show. Meanwhile, enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review :)**

**Chapter 37: The Witch World**

A couple days have passed since Tecna and Timmy got the Forge's blueprints from Zenith. After their little adventure they were picked by the Prometheus, where the rest of the group (plus Lucy) was, and headed towards Casyopea, Mirta and Lucy's homeworld, in hopes to find the mysterious Oracle of the Swamp, who would provide some information about the Man in Black and his relentless horde.

Mirta had called her parents to tell them about their journey, and they offered her and the rest of the group their house as a place to stay. Mirta pointed out that they were fourteen people, but her mom

assured her that she'd find a solution. Hours later, the Prometheus landed on Casyopea, in a glade in the middle of a forest, since Mirta and Lucy's town was too far away from any large city with a starship dock, and continued the trip by walking. Mirta and Lucy were leading the group while the others took a moment to contemplate the fauna and flora of the place.

"The air here is impregnated with dark magic. It's almost like a planet-sized version of Cloud Tower," Musa commented.

"Well, most magic users here are witches, while fairies are few. In fact, we don't even have a Guardian Fairy," Mirta commented.

"Really? Maybe you should offer yourself for the position," Bloom suggested.

"You think so? I don't really see myself as a Guardian Fairy, even if there wouldn't be too much competition..."

"Sure! You're an Enchantix fairy, and you're strong, smart and compassionate. I can't think of anyone better for the job," Aisha commented.

"I don't think we need a Guardian Fairy," Lucy said, with a slight grimace. "Our world doesn't have any problems the Circle of Witches can't handle. But having Mirta as a Guardian Fairy is something I could live with."

"Was that a compliment?" Musa asked.

"It was. It's just that witches aren't used to displaying affection in public," Mirta said.

"It's true. I got to know a few witches when I dated Darcy," Riven said, getting a glare from Musa, who evidently wasn't happy with her boyfriend bringing that memory up. "They weren't as bad as the Trix, they just have... a different moral code."

"I don't know if I'm going to feel comfortable on a Witch Planet," Musa said, uneasy.

"Don't worry, people here don't discriminate against fairies," Mirta reassured.

"But if I were you, I would avoid saying out loud that this planet needs a Guardian Fairy," Lucy remarked.

Flora had been mostly absent from the conversation, since she was distracted contemplating the plants and flowers growing at the side of the road. "The plants here are like nothing I've seen before. I can't even sense the trees."

"That's because those aren't trees," Lucy interjected, and pointed upwards.

Flora looked at the direction Lucy was pointing, and saw that what she thought were trees were actually huge mushrooms.

Shortly they got out of the mushroom forest and saw a town nearby. Mirta and Lucy lived in a rural town named Ravenwood. It was a big town mostly made up of single story houses and stone paved roads. Despite the town's size, it was relatively easy to go from one place to another without vehicles or magic. Everybody noticed that their bright and colorful clothes clashed with the dark green, red and purple clothes the townspeople were wearing, and earned a few stares.

"Well, see ya later," Lucy said as she deviated from the group.

"Um, Lucy, don't you want to come with us?" Flora asked, confused.

"No. This is my hometown too. I have a house here," the green haired witch explained. "Well, I hope that my parents haven't rented out my room..." Lucy wondered. "Anyway, call me when you're ready to go."

They waved Lucy goodbye and the rest of the group headed to Mirta's house. It was a bit more isolated from the rest of the town, and was quite bigger than most of the other houses. They also noticed a large greenhouse behind it.

"Mom, Dad, I'm here!" Mirta said cheerfully as she entered her house.

Inside the house there was a woman in her fifties, with long red hair and pale skin, wearing a dark blue blouse, a purple long skirt, and a black pointy hat. The woman turned to Mirta upon noticing her presence, and rushed to her smiling.

"Mirta!" The woman said in an overly happy tone. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" The woman then started to kiss Mirta fervently all over her face.

"Mom! Stop it, please!" Mirta said blushing, embarrassed as she pushed her mother away.

"Sorry sweetie, you know me, I can't help it," Mirta's mother said, also blushing a little. "So, I see that you brought some friends."

"Yeah. Mom, these are my friends, the-"

"The Winx Club," Mirta's mother said, interrupting her daughter. "I already know of them. But I didn't know that you had such celebrities for friends!" She then looked at Marco, raised an eyebrow, and asked: "But I'm pretty sure I haven't see you before. Such a handsome face is hard to forget," She said, making Marco to blush a little as well. Then she turned at her daughter, and asked. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Mirta was taken aback by the direct question, and for a second she found herself a bit lost, until she nodded in reply. Her mother just winked at her, and said "Good catch!" (much to both Mirta and Marco's embarrassment).

"Uhmmmm, guys, meet my mom, Scarlett," Mirta said, in a desperate effort to change the topic.

"Nice to meet you all!" Scarlett said. "Oh, before I forget, which one of you is Flora?"

The fairy of nature raised her hand, not sure what to expect. Scarlett pulled Flora close to herself and covered her in kisses like she did with Mirta. Everybody tried to suppress their laughter.

"Mirta told me about what you did for her at the end of her freshman year. I wanted to thank you so much for saving my baby from those skanks!"

"Uh, it was nothing really," Flora said as she tried to push the redheaded woman away as gently as she could.

"Uhm, where's dad?" Mirta interjected.

"Don't know," Scarlett said after releasing Flora, shrugging. "He should be here by now."

At that very moment, a crow flew through the window, and landed on the floor.

"Ew, look at that. You guys need some pest control," Stella said in disgust, as she pointed at the crow.

"Who are you calling 'pest', missy?" the crow replied, clearly offended.

The crow then began to glow with a green light as it grew and transformed into something more human-like. The crow was now a man who was also in his fifties, tall, thin, with black hair, a black mustache and a soul patch. He was wearing a dark brown cloak over a dark red vest, black pants, and a fedora.

"So, Mirta, these are your friends you told us about?" the man asked. Mirta nodded in response.

"So... I deduce he's your father," Tecna mentioned.

"Your deductions are right, milady," Mirta's father said as he walked towards Tecna, with a charming smile on his face. "Victor the Lord of the Skies, at your service," he said as he kissed Tecna's hand.

Scarlett slapped her husband on the back of his neck. "Cut that silly act already! 'Lord of the Skies'... just because he can turn into a bird...I dream of a day when you won't embarrass yourself and me and the child by extension in front of guests!" Scarlett then turned to the Winx Club, putting another warm smile on her face. "So, would you like to see your bedrooms? The girls will sleep in Mirta's bedroom, and the boys will stay at the guest room. Come on, follow me."

Scarlett lead the Winx to the upper floor, and showed them both rooms. Mirta's room was abnormally large. There was a single bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and three sets of bunk beds, that occupied most of the room. There were also some posters of rock bands decorating the walls, but the walls around the bunk beds were strangely bare. They guessed that Mirta's mom had used a spell to expand the room so seven people could fit there. She had used the same trick with the guest room, which also had three bunk beds in it.

After that, Scarlett gave them a small tour through the house, until they ended back in the main floor.

"Dinner will be served at eight, so be sure to be here by then or you'll go bed with an empty stomach!" Scarlett said with another wide smile.

Flora cleared her throat. "I've noticed a large greenhouse behind the house. Is it okay if I take a look?" the fairy of nature asked.

"Oh, sure you can! Come on, I'll show you," Scarlett said as she took Flora to the greenhouse, leaving the others behind.

"You know Mirta, your mom is a lively spirit," Bloom said, grinning a little. "All the witches I knew were rather stoic, at best."

"She isn't usually like that. She gets all hyped when people come to visit us, which (with the exception of Lucy and her parents) isn't often," Mirta replied.

"Well, she's certainly happy to have us as guests. I couldn't see my parents being happy living with so many people, even if it's going to be brief."

"So, now what? When are we going to look for that Oracle?" Marco asked.

"As soon as we are prepared. The marshlands are huge and home to very dangerous wildlife. Mom and dad asked a friend to lend them all the books and information they have about the Oracle. They should be here by tomorrow."

…

Meanwhile, at Scarlett's greenhouse, Flora was admiring all the plant specimens there. She noticed that most of them weren't native to the planet, since they barely resembled the plants she spotted in the forest next to the town. The fairy of nature managed to identify most of the flowers there, but there were a few that escaped her knowledge.

"This is amazing. Some of these flowers are very rare. What moved you to collect so many types of plants?" the fairy of nature asked. It was obvious it wasn't a hobby.

"It's related to my job. I own and manage a potion shop, and in order to craft the best potions I need the best of ingredients," Scarlett replied as she spread her arms, pointing her many plants. "They cost me a small fortune, but they were worth it."

"You sure are passionate about your job. That's something good."

"Oh, I knew it'd dedicate my life to this since I first learned about potions at Cloud Tower!"

"Mirta's really good with potions too. Guess that she inherited that from you," Flora said. Then she looked a bit uneasy, thinking in what she was going to ask next. "Maybe it's not my place to ask, but..."

"Oh, you can ask whatever you want, dear."

"Well... what do you think about Mirta leaving Cloud Tower for Alfea?"

Scarlett mood's became more somber. She forced herself to smile, and said, "To be honest, I was a bit disappointed at first. All the women in our family, both past and present, went to Cloud Tower and became renowned witches, at least on this planet. I was hoping that Mirta could continue the family legacy... but... well, Mirta looked much happier at Alfea, and her happiness is all that matters.

"Plus, she was hexed by a witch, but restored by a fairy. It's almost like fate itself wanted Mirta to become a fairy."

"What would you think of Mirta becoming the Guardian Fairy of this world?"

"Funny. I'd say that I'm all for it, but I don't know if I would support having a Guardian Fairy if it wasn't my daughter. I must admit I wasn't too fond of fairies until Mirta told me what you did for her, and I thought that her ideas of witches and fairies getting along was ridiculous, though to be fair I've never meet any fairies before."

"It's okay. We all thought that witches were nothing but pure evil before. Though some of them are."

"The Trix. They're a shame for all witches everywhere. Hell, they aren't even witches at all, given their actions."

That last statement confused Flora a bit. "What do you mean by that?"

"Dark magic is something hard to control. It generates from negative emotions, such as anger or hate. This means that witches need to learn to control their emotions properly, or else they might go insane. Rather than avoiding this, the Trix _embraced_ their own madness, and in return they were turned into nothing but a force of chaos and evil which seeks nothing but power and destruction. I'm pretty sure that not even they know what do they want to do with their lives anymore."

"Now you say that, I'm having a hard time remembering that you're a witch, being so cheerful and sunny," Flora said, hoping Scarlett would know she meant that as a compliment.

"Oh, that's because I have a complete control of my emotions. I'm only angry when I need to be. And if I ever meet the Trix, I'll show them how scary I can be when I get angry," Scarlett said in such a menacing tone that sent Flora chills down her spine. Then she smiled brightly again, and said, "So being a fairy of nature, could you give me a few tips about taking care of plants?"

…

The rest of the group decided to split and explore Ravenwood, though they soon realized that the rural town was far away from Magix or Domino's capital when it came to leisure and tourism.

"So, did you had another dream?" Nabu asked to Riven. They were both walking down one of the town's streets. Several meters behind them, their respective girlfriends were walking and talking as well.

"Yes. In fact, that's pretty much why we're here," Riven replied. "It was Musa's mother who told me about the Oracle, and this place. Speaking of which, what do you know about oracles, seers, fortunetellers and such? Because neither Alfea nor Cloud Tower actually teaches that."

"Well... predicting the future is something hard to do. Many wonder if it's even possible, since unlike other fields of magic can't be examined, or determine how it works," Nabu said. "When I was a kid, I studied many wizards who were said to be able to see the future, and many of their predictions came true, but the skeptics claim that this is nothing but incredible luck."

"And you? Do you think their predictions were genuine?" Riven asked.

"Depending on the prediction itself. Most seers predict the future in an incredibly vague and generic way, to the point that, when you look at it closely, those predictions could mean anything. But those wizards I told you about made very clear and detailed predictions that eventually happened. Now that I think of it, doesn't Bloom have a book like that?"

"Yes, but the book's prediction was wrong. It showed the Man in Black victorious and Bloom's parents defeated, and neither event happened."

"Well, the Man in Black sabotaged the Forge of Wonders, so it was a partial victory. Even if now we have the means to fix it. Still, we're not here to see the future, we want the Oracle to tell us about the Man in Black and his minions."

"Well, hopefully we will be able to find him and this whole trip won't be a waste of time," Riven added sourly.

Some meters behind the boys, Musa and Aisha were also having a chat as well.

"Okay, these people staring at me all the time are getting on my nerves," Musa said as she glared back at the town inhabitants who gave her weird looks. Some of them even whispered something to each other.

"Relax. I know that our choice of clothes make us to stand out a little, but don't think about it too much," Aisha said.

"Still, I don't feel comfortable here. I counted like twenty witches in the past ten minutes," the fairy of music said with a shudder.

"They aren't going to chase you to beat you up for no reason, if that's what you're thinking," Aisha said, trying to calm down her paranoid friend. "You heard Mirta. There may not be too many fairies here, but it's not like they give them the pariah treatment."

"You seem to trust these witches a lot," Musa said sourly.

"Call me naive if you want, but I don't like to mistrust people I haven't met. I don't like profiling either. I don't think witches are all that bad, despite the Trix and everything."

"How many witches have you met?"

"Aside from Mirta, Lucy and the Trix, a few. I got to know some more during the days we studied at Cloud Tower, but that's it. Oh, and now Mirta's mom. You have to admit she's really nice."

"Yes, it's hard to believe she's a witch. But not as hard when you realize that she's also Mirta's mother."

"See? I'm pretty sure that most of the other witches from here are also nice like her."

"Still... I can't help but wonder what they're thinking when they look at us."

"I know. They're thinking 'oh look, foreigners! They must be fairies', right before forgetting about us in the next two seconds. Now I want you to cast all your paranoid thoughts away!" Aisha demanded, a bit annoyed at Musa's paranoia.

"Guess I can't say no to that since you asked me so sweetly," the fairy of music replied with a chuckle.

…

Meanwhile, in a glade outside the forest, Mirta and Lucy sat down in front of each other in the lotus position. Mirta was teaching Lucy Arthaia's technique to draw power from your home planet. Since they were on Casyopea, it should be easier for Lucy to do it.

"Fill your mind with all the good memories you have of this place. The time we met and became friends. All the fun we had afterwards..." Mirta was saying.

Lucy was trying her best to do what Mirta was saying, but recalling good memories and using them as fuel for her power wasn't her thing. She sighed in annoyance as she opened her eyes.

"Sorry Mirta, this isn't working. Whenever I do what you say, I feel my power dwindling, and trust me, it's not a pleasant feeling. I really, really appreciate the effort but-" she started to rise.

"No, wait, don't go!" Mirta said. "Maybe we aren't looking at this from the right perspective, a witch perspective. Just let me think... oh, I know! Come on, close your eyes again."

Lucy sighed, and did so. She knew this fairy technique wasn't going to work.

"Now think... uhmmm... oh, think of that time in sixth grade when Gary the class bully wanted to steal your money, yet you beat him easily."

Lucy chuckled. "Hee hee, that was a good day. He didn't even want to be near me after that."

"And think of that time you got Shia and her friends expelled a whole month when they forced us to do their homework and they presented that essay written by you that was about how much they hated the teacher."

Lucy's smirk grew wider. "Those suckers had it coming."

"_It's working!_" Mirta thought, jubilantly, sensing Lucy's emotions, as well as a new power flowing through her body. One final push and Lucy would be ready. "And lastly... think how good it felt when we won the gymkana during the town festival!"

Suddenly, a strong wind began to blow. Lucy glowed with a green light, and she slowly elevated in mid air. She opened her eyes, which were also glowing green. Lucy released an energy shockwave that knocked Mirta backwards, and finally landed on the ground again.

"What... what was that?" Lucy asked, confused.

"Lucy! You did it!" Mirta said in joy as she stood up. "I knew you could!"

"Really? I did it? How? "

"Well... not all positive emotions are all cute and fluffy like friendship or love. There's also satisfaction of seeing somebody who wronged you getting his just desserts, or the pride of achieving something important, which are emotions more associated with a witch."

"Wow... that was pretty smart, Mirta. How did you think of that?"

"Well, I'm the fairy of emotions and I used to be a witch, so I know that kind of stuff," Mirta replied. "So, how did you feel?"

"It was incredible! I've never felt so much power before! And my senses... it's like they became one hundred times better!."

"Well, you've pretty much got it now. Anytime you need an extra boost, try to recall a memory similar to those."

"Oh boy, when I show this to the other girls at Cloud Tower, they're going to be so jealous!" Lucy said, grinning.

"Well, you still have to practice a bit more to get the hang of it, but I'm pretty sure you'll master it without any trouble," Mirta said. She looked at the sun, hiding on the horizon, announcing the end of the day and the beginning of night. "Mom will make dinner soon. Do you want to come with us?"

"I don't see why not. Plus it will be a good chance to brag about what I've accomplished today," Lucy said with a smirk of satisfaction.

…

Everybody enjoyed the dinner at Mirta's house. Scarlett revealed that she had tried a new potion on the food that she recently discovered and would sell soon, which gave any food an incredible taste. After stuffing themselves, they went to the living room, where Victor had brought several books about the legend of the Oracle, as well as the place he lived in.

"Alright kids, listen carefully,because you're for a very complicated trek," Victor began. "The Oracle lives somewhere in the marshlands, near the equator.. Where exactly is unknown. Many people have overflown the area, but nobody ever found him."

"So how are we going to find him, then?" Sky asked.

"I was going to say that now, kiddo," Victor said as he picked a book and opened it at an apparently random page. "If the oracle can't be seen from the sky, it is because he uses a very powerful magic to hide his presence. That would make him nearly impossible to find, but there's a way - according to our people's folklore, the marshlands are the Oracle's domains, and he can see everything that happens there, so he will be aware of all the people looking for him. In order to find him, you must travel through the marshlands on foot, and if the Oracle judges you as worthy, he will reveal himself to you."

"So we have to go to those swamps and wait for that guy to show up based on his impression on us? We're for a good time then," Marco said as he rolled his eyes.

"That's not all. The marshlands are a very dangerous land, home of deadly predators of all sizes and shapes. You must be extremely careful when you're there." Scarlett added.

"Do you know of anybody who has been there?" Helia asked. "Maybe we could hire a guide or something."

"No. Nobody goes to the marshlands for the reason my wife just gave. You will be on your own," Victor said.

"I don't think we will find anything worse than the Man in Black in those swamps. Plus we have no other options," Bloom said.

Everybody nodded in agreement, and decided to travel to the marshlands the next morning. Finding the Oracle was their only chance to defeat the Man in Black. Plus, if the Oracle saw the lengths they were willing to go to find him, maybe they will be worthy in his eyes.


	38. The Witch Trance

**Chapter ****38: The Witch Trance**

For their trek to the Green Swamp, all the girls we wearing explorer outfits just like the ones they used during their first trip to the Black Mud Swamp during their freshman year. It was more appropriate for the terrain than their usual fancy and fashionable but terribly impractical clothes. The specialists, Nabu and Marco were wearing the Red Fountain uniform, a purple, short sleeved wizard robes and a white and silver armor, respectively.

Everybody was expecting that the marshland wasn't as bad as Scarlett and Victor made it up to be. And they were right: it was much worse. The ground was muddy, plants and bushes kept getting in their way (and Flora identified half of those plants as poisonous), the air smelled horribly and insects were constantly biting them. It came to everybody's attention that the bugs didn't bother Lucy at all.

"Lucy, why is it that the insects aren't biting you?" Aisha said as she tried to swat a small flying bug. "It's not because you're a native, is it?"

"I surrounded myself with an aura that scares the insects and other smalls animals away," Lucy explained.

"Shouldn't be surprised. That's so witch-like," Musa commented, swatting bugs as well.

"When we get back, let's check our skin and see which one has fewer insect bites. Say what you want about witches, but sometimes our magic comes in handy," Lucy retorted.

Mirta heard Lucy, and decided to use that same trick on herself, since the bugs were eating her alive. She reached for her dark power...and found it mysteriously blocked.

"_Oh yeah, the Black Seal,_" Mirta thought as she instinctively put her hand to the Seal on her neck. "_I didn't realize how much I use dark magic until now._"

"Lucy, can you spread that aura to the rest of us? These bugs are going to eat us alive," Riven asked.

"You only have to ask," Lucy said as she snapped her fingers.

A few moments later, they weren't bothered by insects anymore. Musa was a bit mad for having to accept a witch's help, but she had to admit that it was much better now.

"I just hope that that masked freak and his cronies don't decide to drop by to attack us while we're here. For some reason I don't feel as strong as I usually do," Stella said.

"The air here is impregnated with darkness, and it weakens our power," Bloom commented.

"But it increases mine," Lucy said with a rogue smirk.

"Don't worry, remember that you still have us in case things get ugly," Brandon commented as he put an arm around Stella.

"Yeah, but playing the 'damsel in distress' role doesn't go well with us. Or at least with me," Aisha said with a bit of scorn.

"There's no shame in letting others help you when you're in trouble, Aisha," Nabu intervened, hoping to soothe his girlfriend. "Nobody here questions your abilities. Besides, I'd be in the same position as you, since my magic comes from the Light."

"Plus we've already been through this. Remember Melody?" Flora asked.

"But come on, this can't be as bad as Melody was, right?" Mirta objected.

"Uh, can somebody explain me what are you talking about? I thought Melody was a fairy world," Lucy asked, a bit confused.

"And it is. But that Lich – don't know if you have met him already- decided to install a base there, in a place that was strong in dark magic, which caused our powers to weaken," Musa explained. "It was a miracle that we came out of that hellhole alive."

As they continued walking, they reached an area where the vegetation was even thicker than before, slowing the group's pace and making their trek more difficult. They could also hear the sounds of many plants rustling, probably due to animals passing by. This did nothing but make some people grow a little more nervous.

"I'm starting to like this place less and less the more I'm on it. Can't we go flying?" Stella asked, looking around.

"Stella, the guys can't fly, and we aren't going to leave them behind," Flora said.

"Still, I prefer the sky, it seems better than the ground," Stella said as she transformed.

"Then be of some use and explore the area from above," Lucy said as Stella went up in the air.

Suddenly at that moment, Mirta remembered something. "Stella wait! Don't go up there!" Mirta said, but when she realized that the blond fairy didn't hear her, she also transformed and went after Stella.

Stella was in the air above the swamps, contemplating the forest of giant mushrooms. It was quite beautiful from above. She looked around, trying to find where the Oracle could be hidden, but saw nothing of interest. A loud roar above her snapped the Solarian Princess from her thoughts, and saw a huge shadow looming over her. A huge winged reptile dived at her with its mouth opened, showing its many sharp teeth, letting out a loud screech.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Stella yelled in panic as she cast a solar blast at the wyvern, but the winged beasts dodged it.

Mirta appeared in time and pulled Stella out of the wyvern's diving trajectory. The rest of the Winx joined them shortly after, and together they scared the flying reptile away. They returned to the ground, were the specialists and Lucy were waiting.

"What the hell was that!?" Stella yelled in anger, still a bit shocked.

"Sorry Stella, I tried to tell you not to fly, due to the wyverns, but you didn't hear me," Mirta said.

"And why didn't you warn me?" Stella said pointing at Lucy in an accusatory manner..

"I forgot about them, honest!" Lucy said with her arms raised in defense. "I'm not into nature as much as Mirta!"

"Let's all calm down, okay?" Tecna intervened, sensing that this could devolve into a heated argument. "Fortunately nothing happened, and neither Stella nor any of us is harmed. Let's just continue."

Fortunately everybody listened to Tecna's words and decided to ignore the incident for the moment, and resumed the march. Still, it wouldn't be long until their trip was interrupted again by the local fauna. The Winx decided to remain transformed not just in case they were attacked, but in fairy form they could resist Casyopea's darkness better.

"I'm sensing something," Flora said, rubbing her temples.

"The Oracle?" Bloom asked.

"No. An enemy. Something is following us. Four of them. No, now they're five."

"Undead?" Helia asked as he instinctively put his hand to his weapon.

"No, it's alive. It's something... feral. And it's hungry," Flora said. This did nothing but worry everybody.

"We're in a big group. No predator would dare to attack us," Marco stated.

"No, not until they outnumber us," Riven added sourly.

"Keep walking, maybe we can lose them," Sky suggested.

"I don't think so, they're really close. Now they're ten," Flora said, more distressed. "Twelve."

"To hell with it, RUN!" Aisha said.

Since their prey was about to escape, the predators made no effort hiding their presence anymore – despite being already noticed- and chased them through the swamp. The girls had it a bit better than the boys since they could fly, but they couldn't rise very high or else they would be prey of the wyverns. Sometimes they would look back and see huge reptiles chasing them. Said beasts had six legs, green skin, yellow eyes, jaws full of sharp teeth, and two membranous fins at the sides of their head.

"What are those things?" Bloom asked.

"Basilisks! Whatever you do, don't look directly into their eyes!" Mirta warned.

They kept feeling, until they reached the shore of a huge lake. The basilisks slowly surrounded the group, making hissing sounds as they cornered them. The girls could continue flying, but they weren't going to leave the specialists behind to be devoured by those beasts.

"Come on, we've faced far worse than a bunch of lizards!" Aisha said as she took off to attack.

"Aisha, wait!" Mirta called.

"Morphix blasts!" The dark skinned fairy shouted as she cast a pink morphix bolt at one of the reptiles.

And much to the Princess of Andros' shock, the basilisk she tried to blast opened its mouth and swallowed Aisha's attack whole.

"That lizard just ate my attack!" Aisha said, more outraged than shocked.

"Tried to warn you. Basilisks are magic animals, and they feed off magic. In fact, that's why they attacked us. They probably smelled all our magic, and thought that we'd be delicious," the redheaded fairy said.

"So our magic is useless? Why does this keep happening to us?" Musa complained.

"Only direct magic! Let's see if they like this: Green Luxurious Ivy!" Flora shouted.

Large vines grew from the ground and began to wrap around the basilisks. However, some of the reptilian beasts cut the vines with powerful bites. Flora tried to grow more vines to stop the basilisks

"Some help would be appreciated! I don't think I can hold them for long!" Flora said as she summoned more vines.

"Specialists, don't let those lizards near the girls!" Sky said as he unsheathed his sword and put himself between the girls and the predatory beasts. The other guys did the same.

It wasn't long until the basilisks broke free from Flora's vine wraps, and charged forward. Sky, Brandon, Riven and Marco struggled with the oversized lizards, while Helia and Timmy attacked from behind.

"We have to help them! The guys won't keep them at bay forever!" Flora said in panic.

"They may eat magic, but magical or not I don't think that they can eat sound!" Musa said as she elevated in air to have better angle. "Sonic Boom!"

Musa cast destructive sound-waves at a trio of basilisks that, like she predicted, were unable to absorb, and made them to bring their fore legs to their heads to futilely resist the sonic pain. However, that only made them angrier and set the Fairy of Music as their new prey. They climbed to the top of a big bush and jumped at Musa trying to pin her down. The first two failed, but the third one would have reached Musa if Tecna hadn't covered her with a protective bubble.

"Thanks Tecna! I owe you one!" Musa said from above.

"Let's see if we can think something to actually stop them rather than making them angrier," Stella sourly commented. Then an idea flashed through her head. "Hey, I think I got it!"

The Solarian Princess flew above the specialists, who were fighting a bunch of basilisks, and said, "Hey you disgusting geckos, look at this!" Stella said, spreading her arms, making her body shine with a powerful golden light, which momentarily blinded the basilisks, allowing the specialists to gain the upper hand, even if they were unable to finish them off permanently.

"Who'd guess that the amnesiac blonde could have a good idea," Lucy said.

"Well, she has already done more than you," Musa said, shooting a sharp glance at Lucy, which the witch returned.

"Still, it wasn't enough. We need to find a way to incapacitate them permanently, or make them flee or something," Bloom pondered.

"Some help over here!" Timmy said, firing bolts with his guns at a basilisk that passed the melee fighters, and set sights on the carrot headed specialist. For being such a large animal, he dodged Timmy's shots with uncanny speed.

"Hang on Timmy!" Tecna said as she rushed to help her boyfriend.

The Fairy of Technology landed besides him, and surrounded both her and Timmy with a green protective shield.

The basilisk began to furiously bang with his fore legs and head against Tecna's shield, but he couldn't break it. Understanding that brute force wasn't of any help, the animal changed tactics and stared at Tecna and Timmy with his glowing green eyes. Both fairy and specialist began to feel weird. Lucy, who was watching the scene, realized of what was happening, albeit too late.

"NO! DON'T LOOK THEM IN THE EYES!" Lucy yelled as she rushed towards them.

But the damage was already done. Both Tecna and Timmy felt victim to the basilisk's paralyzing stare, and unable to move, the pink haired fairy was unable to hold the shield. Tecna and Timmy were now defenseless against the basilisk. But before the reptilian beast could taste their flesh, he was tackled away by Helia. Nabu and Aisha carried the paralyzed Tecna and Timmy away.

"Bloom, see if you can heal them!" Aisha called.

Bloom nodded and used her healing power on them, hoping to undo the basilisk's spell.

"These beasts are strong as hell! It's like they don't feel pain!" Marco said as he tried to wrestle his sword away from a basilisk's jaws.

"I think I have an idea! I can fool them by creating an illusion of their natural predator, the Horned Hydra!" Mirta said.

"Then do it! I don't think we can last much longer!" Nabu said.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and loud footsteps could be heard, followed by the sound of a large mushroom being toppled. The basilisks stopped struggling with the specialists and perked up their head fins (which seemed to act like ears), trying to figure out what was coming out. And finally, an impressive beast made it's entrance: it was a large reptile, eight meters tall and ten long, walking on four short legs that ended in sharp claws, with three long necks each of them with a horned head at the top. Everybody assumed that this was the Horned Hydra Mirta was talking about.

The hydra let out a chilling roar, making all the basilisks to forget about the Winx and ran away for their lives, some of them even jumping into the water. Everybody began to cheer when they saw the deadly reptiles flying away.

"You did it Mirta! You saved us!" Stella said as she hugged her. The blond princess than realized that Mirta wasn't happy at all, and looked even paler than usual.

"Mirta? Are you okay?" Marco asked, noticing Mirta's predicament as well.

"Guys... that wasn't me," Mirta said in a whisper.

Everybody stopped cheering, and turned around to see the hydra, its three heads staring at them.

"Oh, so you mean..." Musa said as she slowly backed away.

"This has to be a joke," Riven said, looking at the new reptilian monster.

But it was no joke. That was indeed a real Horned Hydra in flesh and blood. The three heads launched themselves against the group with their maws open ready to catch any of the tiny people below. Everybody jumped (or flew) out of the heads' trajectory and spread in a semicircle around the large reptile, which carefully scanned the crowd, thinking who could be an easy prey.

"So, anything we need to know about this thing? Besides the fact that it can crush us or eat us in one bite?" Musa asked.

"Yes, the three heads have a corrosive breath, so keep that in mind," Mirta said.

"Let's attack from two fronts; girls from the air and guys from the ground! It can't fight against all of us like that!" Bloom suggested.

"Do I need to remind you that it has three heads?" Lucy asked sourly.

"Just do it!"

They followed Bloom's strategy, and while the specialists attacked from the ground, the fairies and witch bombarded the reptilian behemoth with energy beams from above. Unfortunately, it didn't cause much harm, and they only succeeded in making it angry. The hydra was surprisingly good at keeping up with both groups, probably due having three separate, but somehow interconnected brains. Back on the ground the specialists were brewing an strategy.

"Let's see if we can kill this thing using the same tactic as with Mandragora's giant worm," Sky suggested, "Nabu, Marco, draw the attention of one of the heads!"

Wizard and paladin nodded, and cast a blue electric beam and a golden crescent blast at the monster respectively, effectively causing one of the heads to lower at them.

"Helia, now!"

Helia threw his chain sword which wrapped around the beast's neck, and pulled down. Brandon and Timmy helped him to pull down when the head tried to pull the long haired specialist back.

"Now!" Sky yelled as he and Riven jumped, beheading the monster in a quick series of slashes.

"Alright, one head less!" Riven said as he pumped his fist.

Suddenly, much to their horror, the beheaded neck generated a new head in matter of seconds.

"What? What kind of animal can regenerate its _head_?" Brandon asked, outraged.

"Mirta! Why didn't you tell us about this?" Marco shouted.

"Sorry, I kinda forgot!" the redheaded fairy replied sheepishly. Then she realized of something the multi headed animal was about to do. "Watch out, it's going to use the corrosive breath! Take cover!"

Unfortunately, there was no place that they could use as a cover, and the hydra had already fired before Nabu or Marco could cast a protective shield. The specialists could see a woman figure standing between them, which blocked the hydra's extremely poisonous breath.

"LUCY!" Mirta yelled in horror.

"Relax kid, I'm okay," Lucy said as she shook the venomous liquid off her, which caused a hissing sound when it touched the ground, releasing green smoke.

"Thanks, Lucy, that was close," Brandon said.

"Hey, why didn't you melt?" Timmy asked.

"Comes with my powers. Being the Witch of Poisons makes me immune to them," Lucy explained.

Back in the air, the fairies were thinking what to do.

"This beast is too powerful, and our powers are weaker on this world," Tecna said. Then she turned to Mirta and said, "Mirta, we're on your world. Arthaia's technique should give you a huge power boost."

"I'm not sure if I can do it, now that I don't have my dark magic anymore..." Mirta replied.

"Yes, you can do it! And remember that you're not alone, I'm from this world too, and know that technique!" Lucy said as she rejoined the girls.

"You do?" Aisha asked, rising an eyebrow.

"Mirta taught me. Now let's go!" Lucy said.

Mirta and Lucy flew towards the three headed behemoth, and recalled their memories of Casyopea. The planet's energy soon began to course through them, and they began to glow, Mirta with a pink light and Lucy with a green one. But it didn't stop there for Lucy, as she suddenly emitted a bright, blinding green light, and when the light stopped, Lucy had transformed into something else: her whole body was nothing but a black silhouette with green glowing eyes, surrounded by an aura of green flames.

"What...what's going on? What happened to me?" Lucy asked as she took a look at herself.

"Lucy, what happened? Are you okay?" Mirta asked, worried of what Lucy had become.

"Yes. Strange as it sounds, I feel so... good. In fact, I've never felt better in my entire life!" Lucy said in excitement. "And so much power! It's incredible!"

The Winx were watching from above, just as amazed at Mirta.

"Lucy's power increased in almost two hundred percent! What did she do?" Tecna asked.

"I don't know. Maybe a witch transformation?" Flora suggested.

"But witches don't have transformations, only fairies have! ...right?" Musa asked, not sure if that was true anymore.

The hydra attacked, launching its three heads forward, but Mirta and Lucy dodged them by flying in opposite directions.

"Lash of Agony!" Lucy yelled as she cast a blue and green energy beam that wrapped around the three heads of the huge reptile. "Mirta, now!"

Mirta nodded, and prepared her next attack. "Mystic Bolt Storm!" Mirta yelled, casting a barrage of purple, arrow-shaped energy bolts at the hydra, which roared in pain.

Lucy couldn't hold the energy wrap anymore, and released it. "That hurt it!"

"Yes, but not as much! We'll need something far more powerful! Maybe if we combine our powers in a convergence..."

"You and me? But you're a fairy and I'm a witch!" Lucy said.

"It's possible! The Winx told me that Faragonda and Griffin used convergence spells!"

"Yeah, but we don't have as much experience as them!"

"No, but we have a great bond with each other!" Mirta said as she extended her hand to Lucy. "Come on Lucy, it was you who said that I wouldn't do this alone!"

Unsure, Lucy's burning hand grabbed Mirta's, without causing her any pain. Mirta and Lucy tried to synchronize their minds and energy to release a spell that would get rid of the hydra permanently.

"Convergence: Light and Shadows Merging!" Mirta and Lucy shouted at the same time.

The fairy and the witch cast a purple and green energy beam with their free hands, which wrapped around each other forming a thick orange beam that blasted the hydra, causing such an explosion that sent the multi headed animal flying away, landing back into the swamp, as it emitted another roar of pain. The hydra did survive, but that was enough to make it realize that such prey wasn't worth the effort.

"Lucy, we did it!" Mirta said, cheering. However, Lucy merely returned to her original form and fainted, causing her to fall the the ground. Fortunately, Aisha caught her inside a morphix bubble.

"Lucy!"

Aisha put Lucy on the ground, and Tecna quickly checked her out.

"Is she okay?" Mirta asked, worried.

"Yes. But her power levels are dangerously low. She used up almost all her energy. Fortunately, she will be better after getting some rest."

Exhausted, the group decided to find a spot to rest, deciding to postpone the search of the oracle the next day. Others besides Lucy also seemed to need some time to rest and recover from their injuries. They found a clearing, good enough to set up the tents and spend the night there. The girls covered the area with multiple camouflage and protection spells so no wild animal would try to attack them while they sleep.

…

Lucy woke up next morning, her whole body aching.

"Uuuuughh..." Lucy moaned as she got up. For some reason, she was inside a tent. She didn't remember how did she arrived there in the first place. She decided to go out outside, and saw Mirta chatting with Tecna and Flora. The three girls noticed their witch friend.

"Lucy! You're okay!" Mirta said with a bright smile. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better. What happened? Did we beat that hydra?" Lucy asked.

"Of course you did! And it was amazing!" Flora gushed.

"I see. Where are the others?" the green haired witch asked, looking around.

"They went to explore the area, and see if we can track the Oracle. We stayed here to take care of you," Mirta explained. "Your transformation left you almost completely drained."

"Speaking of which, I'm intrigued by that transformation. How did you do it?" Tecna asked.

"To be fair, I'm not sure. I used that technique to extract power from my home world, and I suddenly transformed. I've never felt something like that in my entire life," Lucy said.

Tecna was checking on her handheld computer as Lucy spoke. "There doesn't seem to be any kind of information about the transformation you experienced yesterday. Maybe we consult the Cloud Tower archives when we return to Magix."

"Maybe is an effect Arthaia's technique has on witches. Arthaia told me that no witch has used that technique ever," Mirta wondered.

"Mirta, Lucy, if that's true, do you realize of the implications?" Tecna asked, her eyes wide opened. "This means that you could have discovered a new witch power!"

"Yes! Lucy, you will pass into history as the very first witch who achieved ... uh... does it have a name?" Flora asked. "Then we should name it before somebody else does!"

"Alright, but I don't want it to be ended in _-ix_ or similar," Lucy said, making Mirta chuckle.

"Well Lucy, I think that such honor belongs only to you, so go ahead and think of a name you find worthy," Tecna said.

"Okay... let me think... I'm not really good at this... let's see... how about Witch Trance?" Lucy asked, not sure about the name.

"I like it! Sounds cool!" Mirta said.

"I was expecting you would choose something more evil sounding," Flora commented, getting a sharp look from Lucy. "Witch Trance is great."

"You know, with this kind of ability, I feel like I could beat the Trix with both arms tied behind my back. Hell, I can't wait for the Trix to break out from prison so I can get some payback!" Lucy said.

"However, you should be very careful when using that power, since it consumes your magical energy at a much faster rate, almost five times faster, meaning that if you stay in that form for too long, you could faint for exhaustion, or even die," the pink haired fairy warned.

"I'll keep that in mind," Lucy said.

"HEY!" They heard a voice shouting from above. They looked upwards, and saw Bloom flying above them. "Come with me, hurry!"

"What's going on?" Flora asked.

"I think we've found the Oracle!" Bloom said.

The four girls looked at each other, and quickly followed Bloom.

* * *

**Author's note: That was chapter 38 my dear readers. Fortunately you didn't have to wait another four months to see another chapter. Lucy achieving Witch Trance was something I've been planning from the very beginning of this story, and I'm quite happy on how it came out. But this isn't the last time you see this new witch power as it should be obvious, and not just from Lucy, since other witches will get this power in the future too! **

**So next chapter, the Winx visit the Oracle, who tells them about the Man in Black and Gaul the Lich. And while I write that chapter, don't forget to review this chapter! See you soon!**


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